My Pet Dragon
by Rei-chu Asakura
Summary: Due to certain circumstances, he ended up being her pet, but little did she know that this idiotic pet has a big secret. Now, with her long-time 'ex-crush', her persistent flirty suitor and her stupid pet around, her life won't be as simple as she thinks.
1. A Stray Puppy

**My Pet Dragon**

**Overview:**

Due to certain circumstances, he ended up being her pet, but little did she know that this idiotic pet has a big secret. Now, with her long-time 'ex-crush', her persistent flirty suitor and her stupid pet around, her life won't be as simple as she thinks.

**AN: **This was inspired by Kimi wa Petto, since it crossed my mind that Natsu is like a dog – he's actually like a dog, he has a sharp sense of smell and sense of hearing, he eats the way he does rawr rawr rawr, he's cute and innocent but rowdy, (he's an idiotic simpleton) and he's really like a dog! XD It's my first ever Fairy Tail fic so I hope you can bear with me XD I do not own Fairy Tail, but I hope you enjoy this fic that borrowed (sucked, actually) the characters into an alternate universe ^_^

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**Chapter 1: A Stray Puppy**

It was raining again.

Summer was really over now.

A blond girl in her teens was taking a rather leisure walk under the pouring rain that evening. Armed only with her umbrella to defend her from any harm that she could incur from the wrath of nature, she let her mind wander.

'_This weather is annoyingly nostalgic,' _she thought, pouting to herself as she stared at how the droplets of rain found their way onto the ground along with their comrades who had already gone ahead into the puddles before them. She watched the droplets blend perfectly and she couldn't help but smile at how amazing the cohesive property of water is.

'_It has been a year already since I came here in Magnolia to study... I guess I have blended well enough.'_

A car then passed by from behind her, its headlights shining through a couple of advertisements and stores ahead. This managed to catch her attention. _'I wonder what Papa is doing right now... He's still probably in his office. I hope our business is not giving him a hard time...'_

She then made a right turn at a corner and synchronously, a streak of lightning illuminated the dim street for her. Her chocolate brown eyes caught a strange image at that instant but she decided to shrug whatever it was that she perceived, thinking, _'This street sure is messy today.'_

After a few seconds, the follow-up thunder roared, bursting forth with its unstoppable madness, making her shriek, lose track and stumble upon something big — so big that she was a total idiot to be a victim of — a trash can. All happened in just a blink of an eye; she was not able to do anything.

Her inner thighs clung onto the cold, rusty trash can, her arms flung on some icky stuff (whatever sort of dump they were, she wasn't very eager to know), and her face... After rubbing against something hard yet soft on the surface, her face lied motionless on the very thing. She noticed, however, that it was oddly warm as compared to the other things sticking on her body.

She knew all too well that her position was definitely embarrassing and horrendously disgusting, but out of sheer curiosity, she decided to check first what that warm thing was, before standing up to reclaim her posture and her umbrella. She propped herself up by a few inches with her palms against the slimy ground and took a glance of what was exactly in front of her.

Her jaw hung widely open in utmost surprise when she saw a half-naked lifeless body of a man on which her juicy watermelons were currently resting. "Kyaaaaaa!"

Her reflexes launched her a few feet away, to the opposite side of the narrow street, as her heart raced in an attempt to catch her breath. Her widened eyes then focused on the most bizarre thing she saw that day, her erratic breathing almost fading into nothingness as she tried to comprehend that _thing_.

If she were an avid fan of coffee, she could swear that she was palpitating right now. She looked around in panic, not sure of what she was searching for - the culprit? some evidence to prove that she's innocent? a CCTV camera that could possibly be on her side or make her look suspicious?

In that instant, another tandem of lightning and thunder blasted, making her jump at her seat and glance at the figure abruptly illuminated across her.

The busted light post that was closest to the body was not of any help. Good thing there was one on her side of the street which gave her a faint image of the unconscious man surrounded with trash.

Wounds were all over his body. He had bruises and cuts of various length and depth distributed along his arms and exposed torso. Even his muscled abdomen that seemed sturdy gained enough scratches and cuts. His bare feet were not spared from wounds either. His right cheek was swelling a bit, and there was blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. To top it all up, there was blood on his forehead, hiding beneath his pink bangs and some even flowing down along with the rain drops that hit them. How was she able to notice all of those?

She suddenly realized that she was crawling towards the man – her curiosity must have taken over for a second there – but she halted quickly as a mixture of fear, pity and tension engulfed her. She found herself not minding the fact that her stinking hands were covering her shaking lips as she tried to calm her mind and stop it from asking _'Is he dead?' _over and over again.

It was a surprise that her mind obeyed her as it diverted her attention to noticing the familiarity of the scene in front of her.

'_It was just like this...' _She took another glance of left and right, her eyes not wanting to leave the terrible view in front for even a second. _'This is the same place...'_

A teardrop escaped from her eye and rolled down with the rain when she finally muttered, "Plue..."

Her mind then generously gave her a flashback of everything there was to remember.

She could still visualize that very moment when she first met her old pet dog. Its small body was lying on its side, unconscious on the same spot by the wall, near a lamp post and beside the trash cans. It was a bloody mess as its white fur became pinkish with all the blood that came out from various wounds that no one would be able to locate at one glance. The nonstop rain made the poor dog look more of a hopeless case than it already was, but something inside herself forbade her from giving up.

That time, her act of touching the dog's chest to check if its heart was still beating was the key to saving a life that was almost forgotten.

As she pictured how the poor dog back then showed a little movement upon her warm touch and then tapped her arm gently with one of its shivering paws as if asking for her help, she found her body doing something on its own again.

She saw her right hand reach out for the man who was now lying a few inches away from her. Her shivering palm was straight, ready to detect even the weakest sign of life from the complete stranger that reminded her of her old pet.

The moment her palm landed on his chest, it stopped shivering as she realized that the body was indeed warm, just like what her face noticed a while ago. She found warmth under the cold rain in the weirdest spot possible – the stranger's bare chest.

Forgetting the real purpose of the her touch, she was about to draw her hand back as her face flushed a little at what she was doing, but something stopped her at the exact second that she was about to pull away. She spotted a hand weakly gripping her arm – it was the stranger's hand!

As her eyes were lighting up with hope, she tried to rack her brain for any words that would suffice as an appropriate reaction, letting out all the worry and fear she held inside. "What the hell happened to you? C-can you hear me? A-are you really alive?"

She found herself staring at the man's half-lidded eyes, waiting for any form of answer. The only response she got, though, was a faint smile from him. He was still holding her hand that was still pressed against his chest, perhaps finding the warmth from her palm comforting in the midst of the pelting rain.

It was just then when her mind was able to connect every suspicious evidence her senses have obtained. He was naked, he was grasping her hand onto his bare chest and he was smiling! What else could he be? A pervert, most likely!

She hastily pulled her hand away from him and gave him an uncertain glare. There was, apparently, a battle inside her brain – fear versus pity. This guy was obviously a complete stranger, and the fact that he was beaten up to a pulp like this could mean that he is the sort of a guy who gets into a fight and gets beaten up! How dangerous could staying this close to him be? If anyone would see her sitting beside him at the very moment, her face and name would probably be spread across the yankee world or the yakuza empire or whatever it was that this guy was involved with.

But she saw it – the moment she pulled her hand, his hand dropped lifelessly onto his chest and the small smile he managed to show turned upside down. Seeing this softened her, not to mention seeing him as frail as he currently was. She pondered about it as fast as she could, and her kind heart must have won over her feminine precautionary instincts as she started, "You're badly injured..."

She then plunged her hand into the depths of his pink hair to confirm her guess about the left side of his head. He must have felt it soothing that he pressed his head onto her hand with the little strength he had remaining, much like a dog enjoying his master's caress. But she had to pull away immediately to see if her theory was right. And yes she was indeed correct – he had a bloody wound on his head alright.

"We have to bring you to a hospital as soon as-"

"No... hospital..." were the first words from him.

"But you're bleeding, and you might end up with an internal hemorrhage or something like it!" She found herself loosing guard again, too concerned about him and forgetting the fact that someone who does not want to be hospitalized must be someone who was trying to hide from some people, probably his enemies who did this to him.

Her eyes widened madly upon realizing that his hand made its way to hers without her noticing it. He tugged it twice, but she was still processing everything that she remained off guard when his third tug turned out to be a stronger pull.

Within just a snap of a finger, her face ended up on his chest for the second time this day.

"Kyaaa! What are you doing!" Her strong-woman reflexive fists made their way forcefully onto his chest, causing him to cough aloud at the contact.

His continuous coughing -like he was chocked with what she just did- brought her back to reality. "I-I'm sorry... you suddenly pulled me so-"

He managed to flash her another handsome— err, weak smile that turned her heart into a heap of softness once more.

"Sorry... Help me... stand up..." he muttered through ragged breaths, his voice quite hoarse. His coughing or chuckling, whatever it may really be, alternated in such a weird pattern that she didn't know which one truly prevailed.

She slid her left arm behind his shoulder and propped his head from behind with her right hand. If she cared about girl-and-guy matters at this time, she would probably be blushing madly at the seemingly-embrace that she was performing on this stranger. But she knew that she was never that assertive or aggressive, and she was able to convince herself that this was just how one should carefully prop up an injured person, especially if you do not know if there are other parts of his body that would hurt with sudden actions.

She was able to help him sit up, though his facial muscles tensed upon a rush of pain. This got her really worried. "You should really go to a hospital, mister."

He shook his head, his face serious but weak.

He then struggled to lean a palm on the wall behind him and tried to stand up, which he eventually did.

She was struck for a while at how strong-willed, or stubborn rather, this person was. _'He probably has a really big reason for this.'_

She stood up as well, which was just in time to catch him when he stumbled on the first step he took.

"You must have injured your foot as well," she stated with a hint of annoyance in her tone as she hung his arm over her shoulder.

It was no more of a surprise for her that she was assisting this guy and walking him to the opposite direction of where he was planning to go. She was carrying him to where she was initially headed.

She then sighed audibly and stated with enough confidence in her tone, "I don't know why you insist on not going to a hospital, but I'm telling you, I'm no ordinary girl, so don't even think about messing up with me, Mister Stranger. Got that?"

She just heard him chuckle weakly as he nodded.

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"Geez, I have never imagined myself helping a strange guy like this," she whined to herself, seeing that the guy she was carrying was nearly unconscious again but was miraculously able to walk a bit with his uninjured left foot. He seemed to be putting a great effort at this – he didn't want her to carry his full weigh, after all, he was taller than her, and more muscular at that, despite how lean his body appears to be – and she appreciated this little kindness from him, causing the small smile on her lips to remain in spite of the difficulty she was experiencing.

The rain stopped pouring, which made her look up. Her smile grew wider. _'At least the stars are making the situation lighter for me.'_

Her mind wandered again as she stared ahead, a form of self-distraction so she would not be thinking about how much longer she would have to carry him.

'_This guy... he's really like my Plue."_

The slideshow machine in her mind turned on and showed her images of her old dog, Plue – her deceased dog, Plue.

Everything about that dog was adorable. He was cute; he does a lot of cute stuff like dancing, chasing his tail, nudging her gently and finding his way to cram in with her on her bed or on the couch, all to make her smile. That dog really seemed to understand her – not just what she says but also the things she cannot say.

When she cried out of frustration or homesickness, Plue would be licking her tears and would end up tickling her and making her giggle. When she was in a good mood, which was often the case when he was around, she would prepare a special food for him that he would chow down in just a matter of seconds. When she was sick, Plue would never leave her side. And whenever she comes home from school, Plue would be there at her apartment doorstep, waiting inside for the chance to surprise her with a kiss – or lick – and a hug which was not really a surprise any more since he used to do it everyday.

That's right, he used to...

She found him the same way she found this guy, around the same time last year. It was just about a month after she has moved into Magnolia.

It was her first time to live alone and away from home, so Plue's cuteness and comfort like that of a family member made it easier for her to adjust to the new lifestyle. She did not have to endure sleeping alone during the scary Halloween nights and eating by herself during the special holidays like Christmas and her birthday. She had someone to call her family, who was clearly more affectionate than her real family – her ever-busy father.

That was why she got so heartbroken when Plue died earlier this year. He apparently had a weak and sick heart, literally. After the symptoms showed up, he did not give her enough time to get him cured, nor enough time to take care of him some more. But it was not like he chose it that way either. Plue loved her as much as she did and she knew that.

It was Plue who gave her happiness – though short-lived – while she was away from home to study.

Well it wouldn't be happy at home either anyway, because her father was always too busy to give enough attention to her. Yes, he cared enough to give her everything that would define a princess' life. But that was not what she wanted. A simple life with him would be enough as long as they would be together through everything. She sometimes wished for some sort of a black hole to come and suck them up into a different world so they would both have to live a new, and probably, a more normal life.

But that was not the case. Being the president and owner of one of the two biggest mobile phone companies in the technologically advanced country of Fiore, of course he would be too busy. And he has been like that ever since her mom died when she was 10.

Growing a bit more mature, however, she understood that it was probably his way of preventing himself from feeling sad or frustrated over his wife's death. He had a lot of plans for them and for his whole family, but for his everything to be torn like that all of a sudden, a once caring man can mask himself with a facade of a super busy businessman so any signs of despair won't get into him.

But she cared a lot for her dad, despite all his strictness and his being so authoritative on her. She follows everything he says, believing that he knows what's better for her than she does and thinking that it would just add to his father's frustrations if she would be a defiant girl. Becoming someone whom her father can be proud of was her greatest goal, thinking it would not only make him happy but it would also be the key for her father to start giving her the right amount of attention and the kind of care that she longed for all these years.

She vowed to do well in her studies and soon help her father in managing their company. That way, she would not only be helping him, but she would also be working _with_ him.

That was also his plan – to send her to the best school in the country, even if it would mean that she'll live separately for a few years, and then give her the position in the company that was reserved for her all this time. For her, that plan was the best one her father has ever thought of, among all the other orders that he made her reluctantly accomplish before. It was her biggest goal as of the moment – to do everything to make her father proud and happy.

With that, she learned to live on her own, insisting on not bringing any of her maids with her, thinking that this way, she would grow for the better and learn a lot more about the reality of life.

That's why she's here, in her apartment...

She did not notice that she had arrived already, along with the stranger she decided to help.

After closing the door, she hurried to lay him onto the sofa, sofly removing her arms around him, feeling just now all the tiredness that she has earned. She managed to place him there carefully, keeping in mind that no matter how possibly-dangerous this person was, he was injured in full detail right now so he must be treated as fragile.

She stood up and did some stretching after placing him down onto his temporary bed. With this, her eyes did their job observing him.

He was only in his black denim pants which fitted him perfectly - alright, that was just her being a fashion lover, that's why she noticed.

And his -how many was that?- six-pack abs? and his seemingly sculpted body were perfectly complemented by his pants, really - and that was just her being merely observant as a fashion expert for herself. She swore she would greet the person who designed those pants and even ask for his autograph when she sees him.

There was something else in him that she failed to notice until now. He was wearing a white scarf.

_'How can your shirt disappear while your scarf remains around your neck?' _She just shrugged at her question. _'Maybe he's just weird like that.'_

She decided to grab a hair clip from the nearby drawer and in a swift move, she tied her hair into a bun with fountains of hair around it. "Alright, Lucy Heartfilia, it's time to test your first aid skills!"

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**AN: **I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing! :D How was it? Pleeeeeaaaassseeeee tell me *puppy eyes* ehehehe, how did you feel while reading it? what are your guesses about those three guys in the summary (the ex-crush, the suitor and the pet)? why do you think the injured guy was badly injured? what are your expectations or want-to-read-about's? :D hehe, I hope you can tell me ^_^ it would reeeeeeally make me haaaaappppyyyy if you would click the Review This Story thingy down there after reading this and tell me what you have in mind :p weeeee, thank you for reading! Happy April to all! \(^o^)/

A whale-size THANK YOU to windtamer01 (aka jeni)! ^o^ thanks for giving me those crazy comments and cool suggestions and helping me make this chapter better \(^.^)/ revising this has been challenging but fun =P


	2. Her New DragonDog

**Rei-chu: **Hi everyone, thanks for checking this out! ^o^ how have you been? :D Me, bad... :( but better now :p Anyway, thanks to all of you who have reviewed, favorite'd, alert'd and, of course, read the first chapter! Yay! \(^o^)/ My Pet Dragon and I feel so appreciated to have acquired 16 reviews for the first chapter! (It sounded like I really have a pet dragon, didn't it? XD) We're both very happy thanks to all of you! ^o^ Moving on, I have decided to adapt the reply-to-the-reviews-at-the-end-of-the-chapter scheme! XD well, before, I reply to reviews (as well as 'favoriting' and 'alerting') through private messages, but I guess, it would be more fun and interactive (and review-promoting xp) if it's done here, teehee! :p but I hope you won't be annoyed to see lots of blabbering from me :o i'll keep it concise if possible .. or i'll make sure that the chapter is looooonger than all my blabbering :P

Another thing, my best friend, windtamer01 beta'd the first chapter (thank you windtamer01 for being my beta and helping me make chapter 1 betta'! ^o^) so hope you check out the revised version ^.^

You already know that it's Mashima Hiro-niichan who owns Fairy Tail and its characters, not me ^_^ hehe :p Here's the next chapter, enjoy! ^.^

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**Chapter 2: Her New Dragon Dog**

The pink-haired lad could feel something cold gently rubbing his skin. His eyes were closed, but he could sense the softness of whatever it was he was lying on and the soothing effect of the cold material being stroked against his body. It felt like he was in a fluffy paradise, but he knew that he wasn't dead yet, so where could this be?

Having enjoyed the comfort for far too long, he suddenly felt a sting of pain on the surface of his right arm that his eyes popped open. But his eyelids felt so heavy that he had to struggle to keep them up. His head was also aching, making it hard for him to think straight upon waking up.

He saw the blond girl in front of him smile apologetically and say, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice I wiped against the direction of one cut there." Her smile then changed into one showing relief. "I'm glad you're awake now."

He continued to watch her as she placed the damp towel she was holding in a bowl of water on the nearby table and replaced it with a glass of water and a sealed piece of pill she now held. "Take this medicine." She smiled curtly as she handed him the pill she unwrapped. "You're flaming with fever." When she said that last one, her eyes somewhat squinted and her lips formed a small pout, how cute. She then helped him sit up with her free hand and handed him the glass of water.

With his mind still not fully awake, he just obeyed, but the mere act of sitting up made him dizzy. He felt how heavy his body had become that he was swaying a little. Then, after taking the medicine, he noticed that there was another damp towel on top of a blanket – both were resting on his lap. While his eyes were still angled down, his attention was caught by his stomach and chest, which were both populated with red streaks of seemingly dried liquid. It made him curious, so he checked what those were with a finger.

"No! That's antiseptic for your wounds!" She caught his hand just in time. His weak stare shifted onto her face. He blinked slowly a few times while still swaying unsteadily. Furthermore, his mouth was hanging open and his arms were now limp on his sides. He was not aware of how funny he looked until she chuckled.

"You should rest some more." She pushed him gently so he would lie down on that comfy couch again, his head landing on the fluffy couch pillow. He watched her cover his body with the blanket and place the damp towel on his forehead. So that's where it came from. "I ran out of fever plasters, sorry." There came her explanation with an accompanying sheepish smile.

She then slipped his right arm out of the blanket to get back to what she was doing a while ago, and he observed her. "I have to clean your wounds somehow before putting medicine on them," she explained as she wiped his arm with the comfy cold towel. "You were sleeping under the rain and near the garbage, so your wounds may get infected if we don't clean them."

'_Rain, huh?...' _He straightened his head and faced the ceiling, getting himself in the mood to recall. Unfortunately, his body was against it as he felt sleepy because of how heavy his eyes were. Resisting the urge to sleep, he tried to move any of his limbs and luckily, his left hand responded and brought him the right sensation that stimulated his senses enough to wake him up. His left hand felt something of a different texture compared to the couch. He glanced at it and saw a pink sheet spread under his lower half. From the texture, he guessed that it must've been a vinyl shower curtain, and he immediately understood what it was for – for her couch not to get wet because of his drenched pants that she can't dare to remove. This realization made him chuckle, which she did not notice as she was too busy holding a small green bottle and a stick of cotton bud, putting medicine on his arm wounds.

"What happened to you anyway?" she asked all of a sudden, catching his attention. "You're bathed with wounds and injuries, aside from being unconscious on the street." She did not seem to be demanding for an answer, though, because she did not bother to look at him and just went on with treating his wounds.

He remained silent, his eyes lingering on the ceiling, while he asked himself the same question. _'What happened to me anyway?'_

He then looked at her as she continued mending him. He recognized her as the girl who picked him up from the street – he recalled how he held her palm onto his chest because it felt warm and nice, how worried she was after she touched his head, how she sighed when she offered to prop his arm on her shoulder, how she warned him several times not to do something against her, and how he tried to walk despite all the pain and heaviness he was experiencing so she would not be totally carrying him.

'_So she brought me to her place...' _He straightened his head again and shut his eyelids, finally surrendering to their weight. _'Good thing she didn't insist on taking me to a hospital. It would be easier for my old man to find me otherwise. I'm sure his men are checking out names of newly admitted patients, new hotel customers and even new apartment renters everywhere. It's not so easy to escape from a powerful man like him when he becomes determined to catch his target...'_

'_That's right, I ran away, I remember now...'_

As if on cue, his mind let him review everything that happened.

'_I just came home from Edolas, after studying there for about seven years. Since the education system there is different from this country, I was able to acquire a master's degree at this age.'_

He recalled his father calling him as soon as he got off the hell-of-an-experience plane. Remembering the plane ride made him want to throw up, so he reverted to his serious mode quickly. _'He told me to meet him up at a certain restaurant, and so I did.'_

He could picture how he argued with his father later on, after the latter told him, in a nonchalant way, something that would turn his life to a new direction. _'He told me that I would marry my childhood friend and that we'd talk about the engagement when she arrives. Shit, after being separated with his son for so long, he'd welcome me with that? After complying with his whims all my life, he still wanted something more like that?'_

His head started to feel pain again and so he relaxed a little, but he unconsciously recalled the intense conversation he had with his father.

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"_That's why we brought you two closer!" _his father yelled._ "Before Lisanna's father died back then, we agreed to have you two marry each other at the right age – when you're all set to handle our family business."_

Trying to control his anger by gritting his teeth, he just stayed silent while hearing what his father had to say.

"_When my friend and his wife died in that accident before, I took care of Lisanna and her siblings and made sure that you two would be close enough to like each other, so our plan will eventually be realized," _his father continued._ "This isn't an impulsive decision like what you're saying!"_

"_So all this time, everything was according to YOUR plan?" _His anger broke out, but he was able to keep his shaking fists clenched on his sides._ "Even my friendship with Lisanna was part of your manipulation? Have you planned my whole life already? You're insane! Am I really your son or just some puppet you bought from somewhere?"_

"_Why you-" _His angered father threw a punch at him but he was fast enough to catch it with his hand.

"_I didn't want any of these things, to begin with," _he stated, gesturing towards the luxuries around them. _"I just obeyed everything you said because I didn't really care about anything. But I can't take it anymore..." _With a serious frown, he dropped his father's fist into the air and turned his back on him. But before making his way out of the VIP room, he stopped by the entrance and let out his resentment by punching a crater onto the solid wall to which the door was attached.

From then, he didn't know how much he had walked and run. All he cared about was to get away - far, far away. He has crossed countless streets, climbed up and down different stairs and come across numerous people and vehicles. There was just one thing he was sure about: he was somewhere far from home and far from where he left his father.

After some time, he stopped when he felt his phone ringing. It took his father a few hours before finally deciding to call him and realizing that, he just smirked at his phone. He stared at it for a few more seconds as it went on with ringing and vibrating. This phone reminded him of his father not only because of the caller's name, but also because it bore the dragon logo that he and his father worked on together when he was younger. He could still picture the smiles they both wore when they finished designing the logo back then. That was one of his most cherished moments with him.

But now, he was as pissed as ever. Gripping his phone really hard, he raised an arm to throw it. Along with all his anger, he threw his phone forward, not caring where it would land, not minding how shattered it would be.

That was when the stupidest thing happened.

Out of sheer bad luck, a gang of motorcycle thugs passed by, and unfortunately, the cell phone he threw hit the face of one of the men. Bull's eye. To make things worse, it seemed like it was the boss he hit, the one with the most stand-out clothes among them. Of course it made the whole group mad... really mad. And the rest was chaos. Definitely, if you add up a pissed off pink-haired young man, who happened to be the kind of person who takes fighting as something a normal guy gets involved with, and a group of motorcycle thugs, who looked like they were patrolling just to find someone to beat up, you'd get a humongous clash.

There were six of them against him, but the odds were on his side at first because his lean body moved faster than those of the brawny men. He happened to be skilled in unarmed combat as well, having learned various martial arts as a pastime when he was younger, so it gave him an advantage. He was brimming with confidence that he would definitely win this battle, until one of the thugs went to their motorcycles. He thought at first that this bald man with sunglasses would run away and leave his buddies behind. It made his self-assurance boost up as he trash talked the gang some more. However, the opposite of what he thought happened.

The sunglassed, bald man came back with a steel pipe and after waiting for him to be preoccupied with the other thugs, baldie hit his head from behind. This caught him off guard and struck him really bad. The succeeding events became in favor of the motorcycle guys as the others took their own weapons as well and started playing a torture game with him. One had a modified baseball bat with small metal spikes around its tip. Another one brought out a steel pipe of a larger diameter. The one who was hit by the cell phone carried a wooden katana and he seemed to be skilled with it as he swayed it around in an expert manner as he walked. The remaining two wore spiked knuckle rings on both hands.

Seeing that the fight was about to get more serious, the he took off his red button-down shirt thinking that its rolled-up long sleeves would just be a hindrance to his movements - aside from his aching, bleeding head that is. He was able to dodge their attacks at first and even land punches and kicks to the armed men. However, when the dizziness from the strong blow on his head reached him, his movements slowed down. It didn't help that the other steel-pipe man aimed for his head too, making it bleed harder and ache wilder.

He was lucky enough to land a few more punches on the enemies before the fight turned out completely one-sided. He ended up as the prey, staggering to dodge the predators' attacks only to avoid just a few of them. They sprinkled him with successive painful strikes and scraping punches and swings, and all he could do was to try to reduce the impact of their blows so he would not end up with a lot broken bones. That was the least he could do, he thought, since this fight has gone completely out of his control. He knew that he'd be losing in this one, but he still wanted to fight till he couldn't move anymore. It's just his unique way of unwinding, he thought smirking. He knew he wouldn't die from getting beaten up anyway; there was no way he would, seeing that the enemies' weapons were not that lethal. What was lethal for him anyway? Something that could pierce through him, perhaps? The katana was the closest one to the definition, but since it was made of wood, he knew that it won't prick him unless it would be stabbed onto him with great force. But in case he would really die from this fight, then at least he fought with his all till the end, and his boring life would end in a manly way... even though the reason why the fight started was fucking lame.

He smirked once again when he wiped the blood from his forehead away from his eyes. _'No bleeding can stop me from going all out in a fight,'_ he thought before launching an attack.

###################################**End Flashback**###################################

He opened his eyes as his hand subconsciously reached for his head. He half-expected it to be soaked in blood, but it wasn't; he felt bandages instead. It surprised him even more that his hair was now dry.

She probably noticed that he was checking his hair because she spoke right away, "I dried it! ...after cleaning it a bit, of course." She grinned, looking proud of her simple accomplishment. She was by his feet now, still holding that green bottle of antiseptic. "Your fever might worsen into flu if we let your hair stay wet, you know," she added.

He managed to give her a small smile, before his heavy eyelids attacked him again. He tried to resist so he can have a look around the place, but what caught his attention first were the things on the table to his right. These included a small case filled with different pills and tablets, a roll of bandages, cottons and cotton buds, a small hair drier with a sticker that says 'PLUE' on its handle, his scarf that was spread out to dry, a stainless bowl of water and an ice pack.

He finally gave in to his eyes again, since their annoying heaviness was gone when they were closed. _'Is that her name, Plue? Weird name for a girl.' _The thought caused his lips to curve up a little. _'Maybe it's the nickname for Pluigi or Appluenne or something.' _His smile grew wider as more weird names came into his mind.

He suddenly heard her panic but he didn't bother giving her a glance, since his eyes felt locked up. No one could get hurt from a bottle of antiseptic and a stick of cottonbud anyway, unless she would put both in her eyes, then that would be the exception. He heard her exclaim, "Wait, should I put ice on your sprain first before the medicine for your wounds? Wahh, maybe I should-" She suddenly stopped and resorted to whispering instead. "Oops, sorry." She must have thought that he fell asleep again. He did not mean to pretend sleeping, but his eyes would kill him if he dared to open them again so he opted to stay that way.

Her whisper was loud enough for his sharp ears to hear, though. "Are these rope marks? God, what have you been through to get this wounded?"

_'Rope?...'_

_'Oh, that's right, they dragged me.' _He remembered the rest of what he has been through.

After the thugs were satisfied with him as their human piñata, sweeping his right leg with the larger steel pipe became their finishing touches that would surely render him unable to stand. It could have been a bone-breaking strike, but he somehow evaded and ended up getting sprained when it hit his foot instead. Falling on his arms and knees, he struggled to stand up, but doing so made him feel his body aches all together. It seemed like the ground was magnetizing him to lie down completely, and it only took another kick from one of the men to send him down on his back. Although paralyzed, he was able to stay awake to witness the rest of what they did. They took his watch, the bracelet that his childhood best friend gave him, the other accessories he was wearing, his wallet, of course, and even his shoes that they found to be of an expensive brand. For sure, they also got the cell phone he threw away. It was the latest smart phone of its brand so it was most likely catchy enough.

They also tried to get his scarf off his neck, but he did not allow it. Heck no, take away every material thing from him except that! It was a precious gift from his father, from back then when they were not yet as freaking rich as today. It used to be his father's cool dragon-scale scarf that he earned from one of his youthful adventures, and he gave it to him as the prize for his very first big achievement. That's why he was willing to even bite them just so he can protect it from getting stolen. After all, it was the only thing he could do with his remaining strength. Fortunately, he won and they let him keep it.

After their scavenging, the thugs took something from their motorcycles again. This time it was a rope. They tied his feet together and even took off his socks to make sure that it would really be painful for him. They tied the other end of the rope onto one of the motorcycles afterwards, and next thing he knew, he was being dragged around the city as the sun was setting. Torture to the extreme level.

Lucky for him, the rope loosened after some time and he was thrown to the side of the street when the guys made a turn at a corner. He landed on trash bags and a few more things fell on him as he hit a trash can on his way. Their laughter and engine sounds receded, signifying the end of his torment.

That was when he finally fell into unconsciousness - then and now.

######################################################################

He heard a ring and it stirred his senses. It resounded twice before it stopped, which irked his ears a little, causing him to be awaken. He tried his best to open his eyes, but the heaviness was still there. _'I haven't had a good sleep the past few days, maybe that's why my eyes are getting back at me.' _He smiled abruptly at the thought. He then knitted his brows together before finally being able to open his eyes.

He saw Blondie walking towards the far end of his right side, to where the television cabinet was. She held a cordless phone onto her ear and was explaining something to the person on the line. When she reached the TV cabinet, she ran a finger across the sketchbook-like thing standing on the shelf to the left of the TV set. Turns out it was a calendar - he figured out from the numbered boxes and their seven-in-a-row layout.

_'She sure has a busy schedule,' _he noticed from the marks and writings on that calendar.

While she searched for something and flipped the current page up once and put it down again eventually, he noticed that the calendar had four kanji characters dangling from its spiral binder on top. He recognized the kanji characters as the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. _'Girls like cutifying their stuff,' _he thought, referring to those kanji dangles, the scrapbook-looking calendar with lots of doodles and stickers and the cordless phone with a masking of hearts-and-stars pattern. He remembered seeing his childhood best friend decorating her things with stickers, frills and clip-ons before; now he knew that it was something normal.

He then looked at the black thing to the right of the TV cabinet that was trying to catch his attention. He turned his head up to get a better view and he realized that it was just the window, saying that it was already pitch black outside. But it wasn't the outside that he noticed, it was the BIG windows. It was better to call them glass doors instead, and he was right. As if getting reminded by him, she went to check if these glass doors were already locked. As soon as the lock was confirmed, she pulled the curtains close. _'There must be a balcony outside. This place is interesting,' _he thought as he watched her do things while still talking on the phone.

His head then acted up on him again, giving him shots of pain as if a bunch of needles were poking his cranium. He surrendered to his heavy eyes once more and relaxed, hoping that this would somehow relieve the pain. Her glance at him came too late; she did not see him move, so she thought he was still sound asleep.

Meanwhile, as he tried to soothe his headache by not thinking too much, he committed another he-did-not-mean-to deed. With his enhanced sense of hearing and without any distraction at hand, he heard her side of the phone conversation even if she was regulating her volume as respect to her 'sleeping' companion.

"I'm telling you Levy, he really reminds me of my dog Plue! The way I found him, the way he looked like when I found him, the way I ended up treating his wounds..."

He heard footsteps again. "No, this isn't a dog! He's a real guy!"

"...Well, yeah, but he doesn't look like he can move on his own right now, so I guess it's not that dangerous." He felt her eyes on him. "And besides, you know me, I can kick some butt when the need arises, don't worry." She laughed and then turned quiet for a while.

"Yeah, it's been about five months since Plue died..." Her tone was really weak, but it became energetic when she said, "You know, it's weird but I think he could be Plue's reincarnation!" She laughed again, but this time it didn't sound as genuine as the previous one.

He then heard another set of footsteps and a door closing on his left side. She probably entered her bedroom; he couldn't hear her voice now.

_'So that Plue is her pet - _Was_ her pet... And I remind her of that Plue, huh?'_

After a minute or two of silence, he suddenly heard a chime sound from his right. Knowing that she wasn't in the living room that time to make a noise, his alert instincts made him react immediately to find the source of the sound.

He threw a quick look to his right and found out that it was just her laptop after all. Realizing that he has watched too much spy movies to be thinking of possible attacks from anyone anytime, he chuckled at himself for being too cautious. Eyes still on the laptop screen, however, he noticed the window that must've popped along with that chime sound earlier. It was an email. He did not mean to, again, but the first few lines of the email's content registered on his mind.

_Miss Lucy Heartfilia,_

_We are pleased to inform you that..._

_'Lucy... Heartfilia?'_

His idiotic side, the existence of which he was fully aware of, came to the realization, _'Oh, so the nickname Plue stands for Plucy!' _and that idiotic side even grinned widely in whatever dimension he was, completely forgetting that he had just learned a while ago that Plue is a dog.

His sensible side, on the other hand, realized, _'So she's old Heartfilia's daughter that I've heard about... the one who's going to manage their company in the future,' _and this smarter side of him smirked like an evil genius.

He rested his head on the couch again and stared at nothing in particular. _'This is interesting. Who would have thought that I would end up in the house of my rival-to-be.' _His smirk evolved into a sinister smile and it lingered on his lips for quite some time before he drifted off to sleep again.

######################################################################

He felt so comfortable but something disturbed him again. His subconscious noticed that this feeling of comfort and then waking up due to varying reasons has become quite a routine for him already. This time, an annoying 'guuuu~' was the cause, as he heard it continuously creep into his ears. This soft squeak grew into a bigger growl, which was then accompanied by another annoying sensation inside him.

He opened his eyes only to be hit by a bright outspread of light that made his forehead crease. He heard a familiar voice right away, saying, "Oh, sorry about that!" After hearing the sound of a thick fabric being pulled through a wooden rail, he opened his eyes again and saw a girl beaming at him and saying, "Good morning."

She walked past the living room area to the dining table and he followed her movements with his eyes. She scooped some viscous soup from a pot into a bowl. His mind was still in the middle of processing the setting when she spoke, without turning to look at him. "You were mumbling 'fooood' over and over. Your stomach was even growling wildly." She giggled before putting the lid back on the pot and walking towards him, carrying a bowl on her hands.

"Have some porridge," she said upon arriving at his side, the kind smile she wore never leaving her face. She bent down, placed the bowl on the table, and slid an arm behind his shoulder and another behind his head. He was surprised at her quick but skilful actions –who wouldn't be, if a girl wearing dark blue denim shorts and a body-fit pink shirt highlighting her perfect curves and big bumpers would suddenly come close to you and hold you like that? But he knew that she was just helping him sit up, like how she did twice yesterday, so why be surprised now? But, has she always been wearing that kind of clothing?

Even though his mind was working well, his body remained motionless upon sitting up. She probably thought that he was still baffled by everything or still too weak to move, that's why she took this as the hint to be considerate to the sick and helped him eat up. She seemed to be determined to help him recover as soon as possible, anyway.

He didn't refuse when she gently shoved a spoonful of porridge onto his mouth. It tasted good, despite how simple it looked. It wasn't too hot nor too cold, just perfect. He couldn't help but mutter "Delicious" which, in return, made her smile. However, as the process continued, he felt somewhat helpless. She was feeding him too carefully, as if he were a baby. He didn't like it since he was used to wolfing down right away everything set up on his dining table, but he did not dislike it either. He has not experienced this level of pampering before and even though it was quite irritating for him to imagine himself getting engrossed in such an act, he found it a bit enjoyable.

He actually felt nice in here. She was taking care of him like he wasn't someone she just picked up from the streets looking suspiciously battered. She was handling him like a patient, yet the place did not exude a sickbay ambience. He supposed that this was most likely because of his resemblance to her dead pet, as what he learned from hearing her phone conversation.

His thoughts were then interrupted when she placed a palm on his forehead. He didn't notice that he was done eating by now; how did that happen? He saw her smile when she reclaimed her hand. "Good, you're getting better," she remarked before standing up from beside him. She went to the kitchen area again and grabbed a glass of water in place of the now empty bowl. She stopped by the kitchen counter and took something from a small box. He only realized that he has been seriously watching her every move when she turned to face him and a confused expression appeared on her face. "Something wrong?"

He was about to shake his head, but one of his thoughts escaped his lips, "Why are you... helping me?"

A genuine smile quickly replaced her previous look as she replied, "You don't need a reason to help somebody in need, right?" She chuckled before saying, "I learned that from watching anime." She must have noticed how sleepy his eyes looked so she initiated, "Hey, take this medicine before you fall asleep again." She gave him the pill and the glass of water. After he drank it down, she took the glass from him and placed it on the table so she could assist him in lying down. She even covered him with the blanket and made sure that it wrapped him completely, especially his bare chest. She was very attentive to his needs and even exceeding what he needed. He has never tried having a mother because fate did not allow him to, so he has never tried being cared for like this, without any reason behind it. The maids and nurses back home and those with him in Edolas were just taking care of him because it was their job. Lisanna takes care of him a lot too, but whenever he would ask her why she does that, she would say it's because she likes him. He didn't know if she was serious or she was just teasing him whenever she said that; he used to call her a Masegaki when they were young after all, because she used to say things like getting married and being his wife, which were too mature for a kid of her age. But this one, his future competitor at that, was being too nice to him even with the fact that he was a mysteriously wounded stranger. '_What if she knew who I am? Would it be different?'_ While thinking of the possibilities, he slowly fell into slumber again.

######################################################################

Without any disturbance this time, he came to life all of a sudden. Opening his eyes was effortless now; he assumed he had enough sleep already. He noticed that there was still sunlight in the room coming from the window, so it was still day time. He wondered where the blonde girl was, but he immediately found her beside the couch where he was lying on. She was seated on the carpeted floor, her head resting on her arms which were folded on top of the table. He could see her sleeping face from his position, and he even found it to be calm and radiant. _'This girl has helped me a lot.' _He felt better now, all thanks to her.

He sat up, slowly because of muscle pain, and looked around, taking note of the layout of the place. On his right, there was the table where she was leaning on, a pair of bead cushions on either sides of that table, and the TV cabinet on the farthest end where the calendar and some decorative girly stuff are also placed. In front of him, right next to the couch where he was, there was a small table that carried the cordless phone and its cradle. Farther in front, there was the kitchen in the open with the dining table at its center, the sink and the refrigerator on its right side, the stoves on the far end ahead, and a counter on the left. There were a lot of kitchen cabinet compartments and drawers but everything outside these storage spaces was neat and organized. To the left of the kitchen, there was a narrow passageway leading to a door –it was probably the entrance door, because there was a shoe rack on the left side. This passageway, though, was just made narrow by the kitchen counter, and whoever enters the place would be easily seen by anyone in the living room or kitchen. The wall on his left, meanwhile, had three doors. The one near the entrance door was a narrow door –he guessed it to be a storage room. The other two were closer to each other and were far from the entrance door. These were most likely the doors to the bathroom and to her bedroom. Beside one of these doors, right behind the backrest of his couch, there was a long but narrow glass table where a bunch of picture frames were placed. These consisted of a picture of her wearing a gorgeous pink dress with ribbon details and frills, a picture of her with three guys and three girls wearing similar clothes –their high school uniform, he assumed– a picture of her with a small, white stuffed toy-looking creature with a pointy orange nose, a picture of her with her girl friends, and a picture of her family when she was a child. The photo with the high school uniform caught his attention back to it. The third guy there was on the side and way behind the others and was not looking at the camera. He was behind/beside Blondie, to be exact. It was as if he was just caught in the picture unintentionally, but his face was clear and recognizable. _'Does she know that guy? Why didn't she just cut him off? He ruins the picture,' _he thought, looking at that black-haired guy's serious face which was mismatched with the smiles of the other ones in the picture. He just shrugged it off and went back to observing the place.

He repositioned himself before continuing the look-around and placed his feet flat on the floor with some difficulty caused by his injured right foot. Removing his feet from the blanket revealed an ankle brace he was wearing and seeing this, he couldn't help but smile. He then looked to the right, the side of the place he has not observed yet. There was nothing much to see, though, aside from the glass doors, the balcony outside, the light pink curtains and a tall grandfather clock standing at the right corner. He then looked forward, facing the TV, and rested his back on the couch after realizing that there was nothing more to check aside from the insides of the three rooms behind him. He yawned before taking time to ponder.

He found her place neat and simple, but it was spacious enough for two persons to live comfortably. This looked good enough for a vacation place! He couldn't stop grinning at the thought. He looked crazy but he didn't care; no one was watching him anyway. He figured that freeloading on someone for the meantime would be convenient for him, who lost all his money and stuff and was trying to hide from his influential father. _'And besides,' _He glanced at his bandaged hands and body. _'I'm still in the process of recovering.' _He then sat up straight again and glanced at his right foot. _'And I guess I won't be able to go away even if I wanted to.' _He grinned toothily to himself again.

His eyes then landed on the sleeping figure to the right of his legs. _'This Heartfilia girl sure is nice, taking care of me and all. I guess I'll stay here for a while to make us even, as well. I wouldn't want to owe my future rival something, anyway... and learning a few things about her might be useful someday.' _He bit his lip to stop it from smiling mischievously. _'But I have to think of a way for her to let me stay longer. My fever's gone over the night and in a few days I'll recover completely...'_

He cupped his chin with his thumb and index finger and looked down to think of a good excuse. However, when his other fingers touched his neck, he realized that something was gone. _'My scarf!'_ His eyes quickly scanned his surroundings for his treasured keepsake of his father. He remembered last seeing it on the table but the table did not seem to have it now. Aside from the girl, the table only has some papers and her laptop on it, and the laptop was even left open and running. Wait, that's right! An open laptop could be hiding something behind it. He stood up, putting all his weight just on his left foot, to check if his guess was right. His eyes lit up upon seeing the familiar white scarf folded neatly and resting behind the laptop screen. He immediately took it and put it around his neck. It felt better and more normal that way.

He was about to sit down because his left foot was getting tired of his weight, when he noticed that she was holding a pencil on her right hand while sleeping. It was even sharp, actually. Learning from his experience how a little stupidity can lead to wounds, he bent down to take the pencil from her hand. But since he was on the brink of losing his balance, he pulled the pencil from her a bit forcefully before falling seated on the couch.

The friction on her fingers and the noise he made woke her up. He watched as her head rose up alert a few seconds after her first movements. It was as if she suddenly remembered something important. She quickly turned around and upon meeting his gaze, her eyes glimmered. "You're awake now!" He managed to respond with a small smile.

This was when all the interrogation started. She got up and sat next to him on the couch, her eyes monitoring his breathing pattern and his physical condition. He bent forward and leaned his arms on his thighs, hiding his face from her. He scolded himself for being too sloppy that she woke up sooner. He hasn't come up with a perfect excuse yet!

"How are you feeling?" she started. Her voice was soft and her tone sounded really concerned. He remained silent, rushing his brain to provide him something good. To his surprise, her left palm made its way onto his forehead. This compelled him to look at her and see the relief on her face as she took her hand back. "Your fever is gone now."

He countered her smile with blank eyes that caused her to worry. He just didn't feel like smiling now, so he looked away from her again and chose to stare at the table in front. "Is something wrong?" she asked, and he just shook his head.

"If there's something bothering you or if you're feeling pain anywhere, tell me okay? I'll try to help you, uh, Mister...?" She wanted to know his name now, and he knew telling her would certainly let her recognize him. He shook his head vehemently, and he thought he only did it mentally but, in fact, he didn't. This seemed to have irked her a little; he could tell from her tone when she said, "Could you at least tell me your name?" She was trying her best to be friendly here but he wasn't cooperating.

He shook his head again, slowly this time, and he heard her sigh. Silence occurred between them, but it didn't last long because she suddenly shrieked and said, "Wait, don't tell me... you can't remember who you are?"

What she said struck him with a good idea. He bit his lip and looked down to hide the smirk that was appearing on his face as he shook his head again in silence. He knew that she was headed to the 'amnesia' conclusion, and he found that idea wonderful.

She freaked out even more at his actions and stuttered to ask him some more things to confirm her assumption. "C-can you remember what happened to you?" He merely shook his head. "D-do you know... anything about yourself like where you live or... who your family is?" He shook his head once again, a bit stronger this time. "How about, uh, something that you can remember... Like an image or a name that keeps popping on your mind." He just shook his head again.

All these shaking of his head gave him a tad of pain that made him clutch the right side of his head on impulse. This action and the pained look he wore startled her. "S-sorry. I-I... I'll stop asking you a lot." She then turned quiet so he looked at her. She seemed to be thinking, as she was biting the tip of her right thumb while staring at the floor. Her hair was partly covering her face but he could see that her eyebrows were knitted together with anxiety.

'_My reflexes are very supportive,' _he thought, his mental representative grinning widely. _'Pursuing this amnesia thing will let me stay here. But she'll probably suggest going to a hospital, what will I say when she does?...' _He recalled the first time he watched a movie about amnesia when he was younger. It was with his childhood friend. He was puzzled when the patient freaked out when she saw an umbrella, so he asked his childhood friend about it.

"_It's because an umbrella was one of the things she saw before she got the amnesia." _He remembered her explanation._ "She witnessed the case where a killer shot another person and used a clear umbrella to shield himself from the gun powder that would spread upon shooting. The girl was traumatized by witnessing a murder and she got amnesia afterwards."_

'_That's it, I'd pretend to be traumatized by the term 'hospital'! And in order to do that, I'll just—'_

His thoughts were cut when she suddenly spoke about something he already expected. "I think we should bring you to a hospital."

There goes the cue. Interrupting her sentence, he showed her a tremendously horrified face. "NO!~" Then, he embraced his own body, his shoulders raised and quivering, and turned his back on her, his head angled down. His actions were convincing. She seemed to have gotten more worried, as she put a hand on his shoulder hoping to calm him down. How was he able to do this? Simple. He just imagined a 'hospital' to be a vehicle, and his instincts did the rest for him. Suffering from motion sickness all his life has never proven to be useful until now. Though, there was a little flaw to his act –he held his body and not his head because his stomach felt like turning around, and his cheeks puffed as he stopped himself from throwing up. Good thing he looked away from her and she was too worried to have any doubts that she just focused on pacifying him.

"Hey, uh, calm down. I didn't mean to scare you," she said, stroking his shoulder. Her movements seemed to be a little unnatural, though, like she was scared to touch his body. "There must be something about it that traumatized you, huh?" she stated, getting the point of his actions well. She sighed and let him go when he relaxed. "What should we do now?..." she muttered softly.

After a minute of silence, he faced her and spoke with a weak voice, "Can I... stay here?" Her brown eyes immediately met his onyx orbs and she must have seen hopelessness in them that she frowned with pity. She looked like contemplating about it, so he added, "I'll just be your pet while I stay here." He found himself saying something weird with a serious face, so he knew he couldn't blame her for giving a surprised yet confused reaction when she asked, "What?"

"I... I didn't mean to, but I heard you say that I remind you of your old dog...?" he sounded like trying to remember the name, so she butted in and said, "Plue?"

He nodded. "I don't want to replace him or anything, but I guess that's... the only thing I can do to make it up to you for helping me and being so nice to me..."

She looked half convinced and half worried. "Well..."

'_That sure is a weird idea but it sounds like fun,' _he thought when silence recurred. _'And I'll get to stay in a comfortable place and away from home~ and she will always take care of me because I'll be her pet!'_

His happy thoughts were interrupted when she spoke, "I hope you don't get me wrong but..." He frowned upon hearing her start. "You see, I'm a girl, and I can't just let an unknown guy stay with me," she tried to say it without being offensive. "And we don't know if you have a dangerous background or something..."

'_Man, she's honest and brave enough to say directly that she doesn't trust me,' _he thought, quite amused.

"But I want to help you somehow," she added. "I couldn't just send you away with you being injured and sick like that."

He found a glimpse of hope in her statement, so he grabbed it without any hesitation. He pulled off the best puppy eyes he could do and tried to convince her with it. When he caught her eyes, he locked up the contact and spoke, "What if I'm not a dangerous or bad person after all?" He's got a point there. Not everyone who gets beaten up is necessarily bad. Sometimes those people are just the victims of other people's bullying.

She looked like almost buying his idea, but there was still a tinge of uncertainty in her expression, so he gambled on this last move. He took her hands and clasped it with his, his eyes never leaving hers. "Please?..."

She sighed before smiling in defeat. "Alright." This brought a delighted expression onto his face and seeing this, she couldn't help but smile more. She then retrieved her hand at the same time he released it.

He was mentally celebrating his success when she disrupted it and asked, "What kind of pet will you be, then?"

"A dragon!" was his quick, grinning reply, but realizing what he just said made him bite his own tongue and added, "But I can also be a dog." He smiled sheepishly. He has always been fond of dragons – something he got from his father's influence. That's the reason behind their company logo, actually, and even his scarf was said to be made out of dragon scales. In addition to that, whenever his father gets angry, he'd turn into a dragon –well, not literally– so he used to think of himself as a son of a dragon. He's even aware that he inherited his dragonish grumpy side from his father, too, but he cannot let her know that he remembers any of these things. _'Maybe being a dog would be safer.'_

She chuckled at what he said, he didn't know why, maybe she just found him cute. "Alright, you'll be my dragon-dog." She flashed a tender smile which quickly turned into a surprised look when he suddenly went down the couch and stood with his knees and hands on the floor, imitating a dog. He gave her a bark followed by a grin as a reply. _'That's a good idea,' _he thought.

This made her chuckle once more. "But that's just until you regain your memory, okay? And I'll try to help you with it. I'm sure your family is worried about you."

He just nodded at her statement and smiled, but in his mind, _'Nah, that old man won't be worried._ _He knows that I am capable of surviving through anything on my own. He even tested me when I was ten. He left me in the middle of a forest to see if I can find my way back home, and I did, hah!'_

"Good doggy." She smiled lovingly as she pat his head. "Hm, I wonder what name will suit you..." She tilted her head as she thought. He mimicked what she did and tried to think as well. His movement then caused her to look at the head she was patting and when she saw his hair, an idea came to her. "I know! Pinky!"

He frowned and stepped/crawled backwards, away from her. This made her laugh and apologize, "Sorry, that was too girly, wasn't it?" He merely nodded. She stretched her hand towards him, calling him back, and he approached her eventually. She stroked his hair when he was within reach and remarked, "But I like your hair; it's pink! I wonder if it's natural."

He backed away from her again, not because of the Pinky topic this time but because an idea hit him all of a sudden. "Wait, where are you going?" was all she could say when he broke away from her hand. He stood up and hurried towards the TV cabinet to take one of the dangling kanji characters from the calendar. He then bit the kanji, went back on his fours and galloped his way back to her. If he had a tail, he would have been wagging it enthusiastically as he smiled childishly at her with a metallic kanji between his lips.

Having been familiar with dog gestures, she gave out her palm, ready to receive whatever it was that he wanted to give her. When he released the thing onto her hand, she recognized it right away as, "Natsu?"

"You won't be needing that anymore, summer is over anyway—I mean, ruff! ruff!" he said, full of excitement, before pointing to the scarf around his neck.

She understood what he wanted her to do, but she hesitated at first. "Are you sure it's alright to pin this on your scarf?" He just nodded and smiled at her, so she went on with labelling him as NATSU.

"There. So, you're Natsu?" She smiled warmly and he barked in response. "I'm Lucy." She offered a hand but instead of shaking it, he placed his bandaged 'paw' on it and tilted his head while grinning toothily at her.

'_I have never introduced myself this way before.'_

###################################**To be continued**###################################

**Rei-chu: **Weeeeeeee! Finished at last! \(^o^)/ I thought this chapter would be a short one... how did it end up like this? XD Well, what do you think about it? A lot of guesses about Natsu came in the reviews but the real thing that happened to him was this! ^_^ Surprised? Was it lame? I hope not :o well, the throwing of cell phone scene was stupid, wasn't it? XD did you find it funny or fitting for Natsu? By the way, I hope I didn't make Natsu OOC here... His thoughts are not expressed in the series, so we don't really know if he thinks of stuff like this. I mean, he has sort of outsmarted Lucy a few times already, right? XD (i.e. forming a team for the Everlue mission and making her act like a maid, the mere fact that he enters her apartment without her permission, stuff like that :P) This is a tribute to the scheming side of Natsu which is one of his sides that I love, yay! ^.^ (bah, I love all his sides anyway) By the way, thanks to my brother Keanu for telling me what kind of clock Horologium is, hahaha XD I thought the term 'grandfather clock' was a joke, but google proved otherwise XD Hey hey, do you know what My Pet Dragon's favorite food is? Jajaan! It's reviews! So please tell me your comments, feelings, suggestions, guesses, expectations, anything ^_^ and that way, you'll make My Pet Dragon burp with happiness! \(^o^)/

### Now onto the review-replies :D ###

**IrishElvnorWhiteDreyar – **Yes, I updated! ^.^ thanks for being My Pet Dragon's first reviewee and for adding him to your favorites! ^o^ oh, I noticed you changed your name and added Elvnor, hehe, but you're still Laxus Dreyar's relative, yeah! XD

**queenJx **– Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! ^.^ Thanks for subscribing ('alerting') too! XD i hope you like this new update too =)

**LiLyRoSe98 – **You know, when you said that Lucy is so kind hearted, I felt like I wanted to show more of her kind-heartedness, because she really is kind, isn't she? ^.^ even Natsu said in one of the first episodes that Lucy is a nice person weeee! (he llllllikes her~) haha XD Thanks for adding me and My Pet Dragon to your favourites as well! ^o^ I'm moved, even with just one chapter, you have come to like me as an author, yay! ^_^

**Pyon21 – **Your name reminds me of Coco's Legipyon in Edolas, ehehe ^.^ Thank you, thank you ^.^ you said 'cool' twice! I can imagine Jason of Sorcerer Magazine saying that with his distinctive tone, haha XD thank you, I'm happy you liked it ^_^ thanks for your support and for subscribing to My Pet Dragon and for adding me and My Pet Dragon to your favourites! ^.^ That's a quadruple treat from you, I'm happy happy happy happy~ ^.^

**Lucy Dragneel – **Oh how I would love your name to come true! ^o^ Thank you so much ^^ My Pet Dragon loves you too, you know, haha XD Don't worry, I'll definitely continue this fic because i have planned lots of events already, yay! ^.^ Ding! (that's a 'correct answer' sound supposedly XD) you're right about Natsu getting into a fight! :D (and him being an idiot, hohoho XD) it may be unexpected but he's not a criminal or a gangster, but a rich successor instead. Can you believe that? *facepalm* haha XD Lucy asked me to thank you for liking her in this story ^.^ there's more of her being sweet and loving to come!~ plus some more Lucyness *evil laugh* aww, i'm glad that the Plue past has effectively reached you ^_^ now there's one more person who understands how Lucy felt. *Lucy hugs you* ehehe, don't worry, Lisanna won't be a bit*h here, but... you know... she has an important role in the future, but I promise, no bit*hiness, hahaha XD Yeah, my summary was confusing indeed, thanks for the advice ^_^ i kind of revised it but i'll see if i can improve it more :D Waaaiiiiii!~ *melts in happiness because of what you said* Thank you so much! \(^o^)/ by the way, yes, it's a school life fic but... with a pet twist, sorta, hahaha XD

**ollussa – **Thank you, super thank you \(^o^)/ and I'm glad it got you curious! Yeah, I'm a curiouser now! XD (i have this tendency to invent words, you see.. -_-) thank you for adding me and My Pet Dragon to your favourites, yay! *whistles happily* ^.^ ehehe, sorry but Natsu isn't a criminal, he's a rich, fully-educated successor of a big company, unbelievable ne? o_o haha XD i like your Kufufufufuu laugh hahaha XD You're absolutely right about the pet! The Ex-crush and the Flirtatious Suitor will be a surprise next chapter! :p watch out for that!~ but hahaha, you said the word flirtatious screams Loke, hahaha, I can never argue with that XD yes, it's sort of a school life fic hehe :p hmm, I can't promise to put the other pairs here but I'll try to! ^.^ I'm a supporter of those pairs you mentioned anyway! :P *turns shy because you were praising me* ehehehe, thank you so much ^_^

**Lisa-chan – **Lisanna, is that you? O_O just kidding, hehe :p Thank you! ^.^ here's another chapter for ya, hope you feel awesome while reading this too, ehehe ^_^ good guesses, haha, and I like the name Tamahiko XD it's like Tamahome+Noriko of Fushigi Yuugi haha XD that'd be cool if Natsu can change into a dog XD wait, he learned transformation magic from Mira, didn't he? I'll tell him to use that in this fic, even if there's no magic here, I'm sure he'll find a way for you XD *Natsu gives you a thumb-up and a grin* You see! hahaha XD you're correct about Natsu being beaten by a gang ^.^ and that was horrible, poor Natsu =( Let's see... how will he change Lucy's life...Shimatta! I haven't thought of that! Hahaha, am i weird? XD oh, i know now, yeah, there's some changing of Lucy that's bound to happen but I'll have to make them more emphasized, i guess :p The Ex-crush and the Suitor will come in the next chapter! Tune in for that, okay?~ :D and uhm, i guess it'll take a long time for those two to go down because they're quite tough, hahaha XD time flies so fast, it's May now, happy May to you! ^o^

**nalu **– yes, for the sake of your name that I love, I will write more! XD Yay, NaLu! ^o^ hope you like this second chapter :)

**Siarex – **Thank you ^.^ no, you are correct! :D he's going to be her pet~~ I can't wait to see witness their Master-and-Pet relationship, wahoho!~ ^.^ thank you so much ^_^ thanks for subscribing to My Pet Dragon too :)

**61wisampa **– thank you very much ^_^ i hope you like this continuation too ^.^ thanks for subscribing to My Pet Dragon as well! :D

**Sky Fox **– Thank you! ^^ yeah, I had to be mean to Plue so Natsu can have his spot... sorry Plue!~ :( how do you find this chapter? Do you think what happened to Natsu was lame or funny? Haha XD Thank you for loving My Pet Dragon! He loves you too XD

**NewMusic098 **– Weee! I finished the second chapter, your begging was effective XD just kidding :p Thank you! ^o^ ehehe, i'm glad you like the AUness of this fic, hehe :D hope you like this chapter too! hai, I shall continue it! ^.^ thank you for adding me and My Pet Dragon to your favourites too! ^^

**Panchan –** weeee! *happy because you like the beginning* My Pet Dragon loves you too! XD thank you! ^.^ and i hope you like this update as well =)

**windtamer01 –** nay! Haha XD tawa rin ako, HAHAHAHA XD di ko pa naedit yung mga nabanggit mong yan, isusunod ko yan, thanks! XD nako, dahil dyan sa review mo, triny ko ayusin yung paragraphing ko XD saka habang nagcocompose, naka-Web view yung doc para kita ko kung masyado mahihiksi yung paragraphs :p hmmm, iimprove ko yang coherence chuva, kasi pag puro transition words, magiging paulet ulet e XD ay yang complex sentences din, haha, sorry XD kasi pag puro short/simple sentences lang, machorva e, hahaha, pero minsan nga sobrang haba ng sentence ko, kaloka hahaha XD sana itong chapter two nag-improve~ ano sa palagay mo? o_o haha, ganyan din sakin minsan ung review window :p aba, nagstory alert si nanay (Thanks nay! ^.^) binabantayan si My Pet Dragon hoho XD nako, My Pet Dragon, umayos ka ha, kung ayaw mong mabitin nang patiwarik ni nanay jeni XD

**Kiwired – **Thank you! ^.^ wow, a lot of people thinks Loke deserves to be the Flirtatious guy! You're famous for being flirty, Loke~ hahaha XD but the other guys' identities will have to wait for the next chapter! :p that'd be their debut xp weeee! I'm glad you found Natsu adorable (despite how battered he was XD) he's really super adorable! ^.^ maybe i'll sign up at his fan club one of these days XD that's a good idea, protecting something or someone, but what actually happened was not as heroic as that ^_^; well, *makes up an excuse* it's Lucy whom he's bound to protect that much, that's why! XD Yes, you're right! Gray is a caring person, even if he always quarrels with Natsu ^.^ i realized that there can be a lot of possibilities/guesses about what happened to Natsu XD (i mean, there are many characters that could have done it) but what I did was to let other unnamed guys beat him up T_T well, they cheated, they used weapons! Grrr! I hate them! *cools down* Waaiiii, thank you for liking my idea and writing style ^o^ i hope you like this new chapter! :D

To those who added My Pet Dragon to their favorites: **Chiharu Himeji**,** Helena the Southern Chick o3o**,** PortgasDAva**,** Crystilia**,** and bacchus in vines**, thank you so much! He won't spew fire and mess around with you guys because he became one of your favorite dragons! ^o^ hope to hear from you guys too! what can you say about this chappie? :D

To those who subscribed to My Pet Dragon through story alert: **Chiharu Himeji**,** Eileen2510**,** summer's lullaby**, **Pie3**,** and Emcronia**,thank you for availing the lifetime subscription! XD You may send your payments to the following bank accounts-just kidding, hahaha! XD thank you guys! Hope you like chapter 2, please tell me if you do ^.^

###

**AN: **Well, that's all! Sorry for being so noisy (silently, that is) ^_^ The review-replies turned out to be of more than a thousand words, gosh that's so talkative of me o_o well, i've kept my promise, though, that the chapter would be waaaay longer XD hope you liked it. ^_^ Now click the review button and express yourselves for free! :D (promo runs until...forever XD) (alright, i need to sleep now, i'm going craaaaaazy and i'm falling asleep on my seat! XD) Thank you for reading! ^o^


	3. The Pet, The Suitor and The ExCrush

**My Pet Dragon**

**By Rei-chu Asakura**

**Chapter 3: The Pet, The Suitor and The Ex-Crush**

It was a bright Saturday morning. The sun's rays were enthusiastically intruding holes and un-curtained glass windows they find in their mission to spread the good news that it was a weekend. Meanwhile, utilizing the renewable energy shining upon her, Lucy sat on her study table and engaged herself in one of the things she loved to do - tell her mom about the latest happenings. Sure her mother was in a far away paradise already, but there's nothing wrong with writing letters to her, right?

_Dear Mama,_

_It has been a day and a half since I officially had this pet, Natsu, that I've told you about. His fever is completely gone now but his wounds are not yet okay. You know, Mama, it still bugs me how I found him the same way that I found Plue. And of all people in town, it was me who found him in that state. Do you think Plue sent him to me somehow?... If you happen to run into Plue up there, Mama, could you ask him for me?_

She giggled upon the thought of her mother and Plue having fun together in heaven.

_But seriously, Mama, aside from thinking that it's for Plue's sake, I really want to help this person get well. I'm sure if you see his injuries, you'd pity him too. The wound on his head and those spread all over him are even incomparable to his awfully scraped back. I'm guessing he was dragged after he was beaten up; there were rope marks on his feet. How could there be people who would torture a person that much?_

_Anyway, about his amnesia, Mama, I wonder if he had it even before he was tortured or if it was the torture that caused him to have it. I guess it's the first one, because when I mentioned 'hospital' to him, he panicked and got scared. Maybe he used to be in a hospital because of his amnesia... But the latter is also possible. If that's the case, then maybe he worked at a hospital before the torture and the amnesia happened, or the torture itself happened or started in a hospital. Whichever it may be, I'm quite sure that a hospital can lead us to finding about who he is. That's why yesterday, I went to the two hospitals in town to ask if they have recently admitted this person or if they have an employee who looks like him, or if the people there have seen a person like him at least. Since I couldn't bring Natsu to those hospitals -because he's so scared of it that even the pictures of a hospital that I showed him freaked him out- I just took his picture and showed it to the people I asked. Sadly, their patient and employee records have no one who looks like him, and no one seemed to be familiar with his face. I'll try consulting hospitals in other towns next. Wish me luck, Mama!_

She smiled warmly before a surprised look appeared on her face, signifying that she suddenly remembered something.

_Oh, I have also thought of seeking help from broadcast stations to announce that this person with amnesia is with me so his relatives can claim him. But he refused the idea - more like got scared of it again. He said, while looking really horrified, "What if bad people pretend to be my relatives to claim me and hurt me again? Or sell me to some more bad people to make me their slave? Or cut me open so they can sell my internal organs?" Good grief, Mama, even I got scared of his ideas! I couldn't live in peace if any of those happen to him because of my suggestion. I have heard news about human trafficking and kidnapping for internal organs, and the syndicates who do them are still on the loose. I guess we'll have to wait for missing-person announcements instead, hoping that his relatives would do that soon. That would be safer, wouldn't it? _

She grinned sheepishly, as if the one she was talking to was in front of her.

_Don't worry, Mama, I promise I won't be in danger with this guy. He emits this weird aura that tells me I can trust him... Or maybe it's still his resemblance to Plue that makes me think so? Anyway, I'm still taking all precautions. But if the situation would call for it, I can protect myself against him. Virgo and Capricorn taught me self defense lessons back then, and I'm sure you know how good those two are with whatever they teach me._

She flashed a confident smile.

_But you know, even if he's a guy, he acts so much like a dog._

###################################**Flashback**###################################

_The other night, when I brought out Plue's old stuff, Fleuve d'Etoiles caught his interest so he played with it._

"What's this thing, Lucy?" Natsu asked, examining the blue synthetic loop attached to a cylindrical tube-like thing. The synthetic material that had golden glitters within it looked like a river of stars that was frozen into a flexible rope. Anyone would be caught by its unique appearance.

However, Lucy's mind was flying back in time as she rummaged the box she got from the storage room, so she was not able to reply right away. Shrugging at her silence, he tried to pull the loop wider and it responded according to his will. His eyes were then captured by the star dangling from the other end of that cylinder. "Is this a necklace?" His amused brows rose from the realization before he instinctively tried the thing on himself. He found it too loose so he tightened it casually. He didn't know how he did -it just felt like adjusting your necktie- but it worked! "Cool," he said, more like praising himself for the success than commending the necklace thing. "But this is a weird necklace, Lucy..." He glanced at the cylinder-with-star that was supposed to be the pendant before he looked at the blonde.

"Oh, that's a leash," Lucy replied, a smile quickly appearing on her face.

_Remember that, mama? It's the extendable and retractable leash that Virgo gave me when she visited me here in one of her days off from our house._

She pressed one of the three flat buttons on the cylindrical pendant-thing to show her seemingly confused companion what she was talking about. Curious of what she just did, he pulled the cylinder up to his face to have a better look at it. However, due to his quick action, he pulled it a bit farther from him. He expected that having done so would tug his neck a little but something different happened - the blue material that ran from the cylinder to the loop became longer, making his eyes grow wider. "Waah-"

"That's an extendable-retractable leash called Fleuve d'Etoiles," she explained, amused at his cute innocence to the leash-thing.

"Ohhh, cool!" His eyes lit up as he grinned at her. He still wore the loop around his neck when he pulled the cylinder to his arm's length. "I wonder how long it can get." Holding it with one hand, he proceeded with pulling the blue material as if telling the poor cylinder to 'Spit it all out, man!' As he pulled the rope-like thing, some parts of it clung onto his arms but he didn't mind. He was determined to find out this thing's limit.

Getting impatient of the routine later on, he stepped on one part of the string and then stood up with the cylinder on his hands. He succeeded in pulling out quite a lot with this single move, so he repeated the gesture. However, he grew tired by doing it thrice because he had to bend down and stand up repeatedly. He gritted his teeth in annoyance at the persistent extendable leash as a soft growl escaped his mouth. Lucy, on the other hand, chuckled as she watched his battle against the endless leash.

He got more annoyed by being laughed at, so he sat down and brought his feet together to provide a clamp for the enemy. He placed the cylinder at the little space between his feet then started pulling the string out of it again, with his two hands this time, making the pull faster and more vigorous. "Hora hora hora hora hora~"

All of a sudden, he heard a small 'beep' and things went crazy. The cylinder escaped his feet-lock and came rushing towards his hands and then his face. He dodged it, making him fall on his side as it continued going berserk around him. Before he knew it, he was tangled by the blue thing he was pulling a while ago, defeated in all aspects.

"Ano... Lucy..." he called to her, his voice muffled by his intertwined elbows blocking his mouth. He couldn't look at her because something attached to his left knee was pulling his neck down. He couldn't move either because his hands that were reaching forward were tied onto his right foot -yep, the sprained one- and his right knee was firmly tied onto his left leg that crossed it. In one sentence, he looked worse than a cow caught by a cowboy.

Lucy took a few seconds to stare at him in surprise before she burst out laughing. She couldn't see his lips but she was sure that he was either scowling or pouting at that moment.

###################################**End Flashback**###################################

_Of course I untangled him right away or his healing wounds might reopen because of his position. But that retract button he must have pressed made him look like a whining, helpless puppy. Too bad he lacked the actual puppy-whine sound, though. His face showed pure amazement as he watched me unwrap him easily. When he was released, he immediately went on with ransacking the box again as if nothing happened. Dog's attention span issues, ne Mama?_

She chuckled to herself.

_He is sweet as a dog too. After chowing down his meals, he grins widely at me and then nudges me with his face lovingly. That's probably his way of thanking his master, ne? Then I would stroke his pink hair in return and he would lie down wherever he was as he enjoyed the caress._

_The way he sleeps on the sofa is so doggish too. He lies on his stomach and rests his cheek on his arms with his tongue hanging from his open mouth. One time he was facing one side and his arms were together and just like his legs - a dog's sideward sleeping position. Then another time, he was lying on his back and sleeping like a person but his paws are still up on either side of his chest. I've seen this much because he spent the last two days sleeping, but that's good for him._

_Oh, and yesterday, we were watching TV together when a mosquito suddenly bit him. He chased it and waited for a chance to swat it, but it escaped. He ended up chasing it around the living room until it escaped through the window that was left partly open. He growled with his sharp fangs as he stomped his paws in frustration. I watched him throughout the chase up to the time he crawled grumpily back to his seat. I found it cute but somewhat shocking. Plue used to chase away mosquitos before, too, but this dog is quite different. He wanted to chase the mosquito to get even with it. When he ran around, he even said, "Your bite hurts! I'll bite off your head when I catch you!" He seems a bit scarier than my Nikola dog, ne Mama? Well... there are different types of dogs, anyway. He said he's a dragon-dog; maybe we can consider the 'dragon' as his breed, which explains his fierceness._

She laughed nervously at the last word she wrote.

_But you know, Mama, his being a dragon almost gave me a heart attack last night._

###################################**Flashback**###################################

_When I brought him to the balcony to show him the calming view of the river outside at night, he did something outrageous._

"The view is not the only thing that's soothing here. The night breeze also feels great!" Lucy said before taking in a deep breath of refreshingly cold air.

"Yup yup! It feels greaaaat~"

_When I glanced at him, I saw him squatting on the balcony railings. His arms were even spread on both sides, feeling the breeze on his so-called dragon wings._

"Holy shrimps!"

_I pulled him immediately, before he could lose his balance and his life. We both fell on the floor, though, but it was way better than him falling 30 feet below._

"Ow, what was that for?" he whined, rubbing his aching hip.

"Why did you do that? Do you want to fall out there? We're on the 4th floor you know!" she nagged nonstop.

He grinned at her when he realized her point. "Oh, don't worry, dragon claws are strong!" he said, pointing to his feet.

"You even sprained one, didn't you?" she retorted, a vein popping on her forehead.

"Oh," was his quick reply accompanied by an expression of late realization.

###################################**End Flashback**###################################

_I wonder why 'dragon' was the first thing that came into his mind when I asked him what kind of pet he will be... Could it be something related to his past?_

Her mouth jerked opened upon remembering something.

_Ah, that night when I first treated his wounds -the night before he became my pet, that is- I was watching the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" while he was sleeping. The title was mentioned every commercial break. He must have subconsciously heard it and thought that he was a dragon himself. _She shrugged. _Weird, but it is possible. _She then heaved out a sigh while still smiling. _I should have paid more attention on how to train a dragon, if only I knew that I would be having one for a pet. Anyway, being a dragon-dog, he's unique just like my Plue... But can I really handle a dragon-dog pet? I hope so, Mama. _She smiled sheepishly.

The picture of her mother on her table caught her eyes. She smiled at it before deciding to add another paragraph on her letter.

_You've always been so nice to everyone, Mama. You taught me to cherish the people around me, telling me that they are all God-given gifts with special purposes in my life. So even this human pet that suddenly came my way... I will treat him well._

She smiled warmly as she signed the letter, folded it and placed it in a small envelop. She took a few seconds to choose which sticker to seal the envelop with. Finally, she chose the pink puppy head that was wearing a pitifully cute expression.

######################################################################

It was midday and Natsu sat on the floor lazily. His left hand that was propped on the table was cupping his chin while the other one was bothering the remote to find an interesting TV channel. "Man, I'm hungry~" he mumbled as he ogled at the commercial of a certain fried chicken.

To his utmost delight, a familiar voice announced, "Natsu, time to eat!" Without wasting any time, he galloped on all fours towards the dining table. He climbed up his chair and waited animatedly for his master to turn around. When she finally did, the object she brought forth stunned him in disbelief. _'She's taking it seriously!'_

He stared at the dog bowl in front of him then at Lucy to make sure of everything. She merely tilted her head and smiled at him before she turned around again, so he had no other choice but to ask the very thing in front. Sure enough, it had his name NATSU on it, as if it was proudly saying, "Hey, I'm yours!" He narrowed his eyes at it before he pulled it for a closer scrutiny.

Seeing the contents of the big dog bowl brought a smile onto his previously doubtful face. He indeed misjudged the red childish-looking container and overlooked what it was carrying, because it turned out to be a king's platter in disguise. There were tonkatsu slices on the first quadrant, fried chicken lollipops on the second, mini squid calamari on the third, mixed veggies on the fourth and a big circle of rice in the center, topped with shredded nori in the form of a smiley. Yup, the contents were neatly placed and it was human food no matter how you look at it. The smell was very tempting, too. He couldn't wait no more so he gobbled up everything his eyes have set upon.

"Wha- You're taking it seriously!" he heard her exclaim, so he paused to look at her. She was holding a pair of spoon and fork and was wearing the same expression he wore earlier. He couldn't help but laugh after seeing her and realizing that he was indeed the one who took the dog bowl seriously.

She ended up laughing as well. "You have rice on your nose, Natsu," she said as she placed the utensils beside his dog bowl and her plate on her side of the table. She set down the other food plates and their drinks before she sat and started eating too.

'_This... is the simple vacation I wanted.' _Natsu's lips couldn't stop smiling. _'Good treatment but no expectations and responsibilities. Well, I didn't want the injuries, but they've been useful. I just have to walk with my arms and knees now, not just for the dog purpose but also for my sprain. Actually, I have tried walking with my feet when Lucy was out and I can manage it already. But I have to keep that to myself for now; just to be sure she won't kick me out.' _He stopped himself from putting up a sneaky smile.

'_Anyway, I suggested pet idea so she won't kick me out even when I recover, _he reassured himself. _And she won't send me to some sort of amnesia facilities or hospitals because I am HER pet and I am scared of 'hospitals', right?' _If he had an audience, he would have winked at them right now.

He took a glance of her without stopping his pig-out process. She was watching him and smiling as she did so. _'She seems to like it when I wolf down what she cooks. Lisanna did too whenever she visited me in Edolas and cooked for me. Are all girls like that? Hmmm, my personal chef there was a girl but she didn't smile much.' _He recalled how stoic that woman was, always so polite and serious about her job. He just shrugged mentally.

'_Maybe Lucy is just so happy to have a pet again.' _He glanced at the name on his dog bowl. _'She bought a lot of dog stuff earlier like a brush, chew toys, puzzle toys, and clothes. I don't know if those clothes are human clothes or dog clothes of my size but at least I don't have to wear her pajamas anymore; they're skimpy and girly!' _He smiled sarcastically at the strawberry pajamas he was wearing. He remained shirtless, though, not only because she had no shirt that could fit him but also because he preferred it that way. He was covered in bandages and plasters, anyway.

"Do you like your plate, Natsu?" she suddenly asked. He faced her and tried to look indifferent when he nodded. He expected her to ask a follow-up because of how he reacted, but she just grinned. "Try your new clothes later, okay?" He nodded again, smiling a bit now. "And we'll brush your pink hair later," she added before happily taking a spoonful of her food.

'_She's thrilled to have a pet again, indeed! So that's why she looked so excited when she left earlier; she would be buying dog stuff. Well, she wasn't the only one who was excited.'_ His small smile evolved into a smirk as he continued enjoying the remaining food. _'I got the house, the couch, the TV and the ref all to myself and I was able to explore the house a little, unlike yesterday when I was barely awake. Being a dragon-dog sure is weird but I feel like I'm gonna enjoy it here.'_

He pushed dog bowl forward to show her how empty it was now and then grinned. "Thanks for the meal!"

This earned him a pat on the head and a wide smile from her. "Good Natsu."

######################################################################

"Wait Natsu, we've got some watermelon for dessert," Lucy announced, stopping Natsu from leaving his seat. She quickly went to the refrigerator and sliced the 1/4 watermelon into two. "Summer fruit that remained." She smiled sheepishly as she placed it on the table. That fruit had been in the ref for a few days because she couldn't eat a whole watermelon on her own. Now, she was worried that he might not like it because it's old. Just then, the moment when he took the kanji from the calendar flashed in her mind and she remembered him say, _"You won't be needing this. Summer is almost over anyway."_

On the contrary, he grinned when he took one of the watermelon slices. "You have your own Natsu now," he joked, as if he heard her thoughts.

She smiled at his positive reaction and countered, "So I should have summer fruits on-stock always?" He nodded enthusiastically before slamming the watermelon onto his incisors - no need for utensils or bite-sizing. _'Why do I have to worry? He's not a picky eater, anyway,' _she reassured herself, smiling halfheartedly as she watched him.

His next actions surprised her, though. He sputtered the watermelon seeds he collected in his mouth after taking three bites. He aimed them at his dog bowl and they landed skillfully in place. He grinned at his accomplishment before taking another set of bites.

She was astounded at what he did. Her mental adjective generator was deciding among cute, funny, weird and crude, but the grin he flashed earned him the 'cute'. The second time he did that, there were three seeds that went past his bowl which made him pout involuntarily. Seeing that made her think that 'cute' was indeed the right word.

She remained staring at him, which, when he noticed, made him grin apologetically. He immediately picked up the seeds that went astray and put them in his bowl like an obedient boy. He then looked at her with a semi-worried expression and asked, "Are you mad? Please don't kick me out."

She laughed at what he said and it obviously relieved him of his anxiety. "Where did you learn that?"

"Uh, morning anime for kids a while ago." He smiled sheepishly.

"That'd be funny if kids are gonna be doing that," she remarked, laughing some more.

"You try it. It's fun!" His toothy grin was present again as he offered his dog bowl to her.

"Maybe next time." She smiled elusively before taking in a bite-size, de-seeded piece of the fruit.

"Promise that," he muttered before continuing his little game. She opted to watch this childish side of her pet, seeing that this was more fun.

######################################################################

Later on, after washing the dishes, Lucy plopped on the couch where her pet was also seated. He seemed to be watching the culinary TV show -his glimmering eyes were locked onto the steak finished product that was being garnished by the talking chef- so she waited for the commercial break. When it finally came, she spoke, "Natsu."

"Hn?" He faced her and showed a welcoming expression.

"We're going somewhere." She tried to sound casual but his smile flattened when he heard that. "Can you manage to walk now?" His smile was now a frown and his eyes were somewhat trembling. She knew he was probably scared of that 'somewhere', but she also knew that two days of rest and treatment are roughly enough to recover from sprain. Her curiosity overpowered her empathy and she stood up. She offered a hand to him and said, "Come on, let's see if our sprain treatment has been effective." She showed her most tender smile, hoping it would convince him. Fortunately, it did. He took her hand and stood up with his weight mostly on his left foot. She took a step back so he could step forward, and he succeeded without looking hurt. They took a few more steps before she concluded, "Great! You can walk now."

He just stared at her, waiting for her next words.

"Just don't do some quick and forceful movements with it so it won't hurt, okay?" she reminded as she led him to sit down again.

He merely nodded, a mixture of fear and anxiety still on his face. She chuckled, which confused him a little. "Relax, we're not going to the 'you-know-where'." She winked and smiled at him. This seemed to have lightened up his feelings, so she added, "Now, take a bath, Natsu."

He quickly shook his head emotionlessly, which caused her brow to rise. "My body is still heavy," he reasoned before hitting his back on the sofa and slouching. "I want to sleep and relax some more." He yawned and stretched his arms.

"But you've been sleeping the past two days that you had no time to take a bath." She was finding this funny, though, because she knew he was just making an excuse.

"I want to sleep more," he said blankly before he folded his feet up to the couch, turned his back on her and hugged the fluffy pillow beside him.

She couldn't suppress her laughter anymore. She leaned over him to check, and yes, his eyes were closed. But she knew he wasn't really asleep nor sleepy. "You're just faking it!~" She shook him by the shoulder and convinced him some more -which sounded more like a whine, "Natsu~ We're not going to somewhere scary, trust me. We just have to get your body checked and your head scanned, so we're going to a doctor I know."

It surprised her how the one she was shaking a while ago was able to crawl so fast over the arm rest and out of the sofa. "Natsu!~" She looked over and saw him hugging his knees with his pink head resting on them. She had to admit, that was really kind of cute. His pinkness was making him cute for her eyes, as if he were a pink fluffy scaredy cotton ball hiding behind (beside) the couch. It was one of her favorite colors after all.

She tried to stop herself from laughing so she could sound believable when she said, "She's a good doctor, Natsu.. And you know, she likes dragons too! There are even rumors that she met one. You can ask her about it when we get there."

"Really?" he squeaked, turning to face her slowly.

'_And the winner is... Lucy!' _She celebrated mentally, relishing his reaction. She showed him a gentle smile, though, to make her look harmless. "Yup. So take a bath and we'll go, okay?"

His face lightened up... only for a second. "But dogs don't take a bath, Lucy," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh, they do," she countered right away, a vein starting to pop on her forehead even though she was still smiling.

A crafty smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Then my master should bathe me."

"You're big enough to bathe yourself, Natsu!" Out of nowhere, Lucy was able to grab a whip and she lashed it on the floor beside him, making him scramble for his life towards the bathroom.

######################################################################

Lucy was humming while dusting her shoe rack when she heard a sudden bang of a door slammed open. She quickly faced the source of the sound and freaked out when she saw a foam monster emerge from the bathroom. "Luuucyyy!" she heard it scream.

"Natsu! What's the matter?" she replied in a half-worried half-bewildered tone.

The foam monster faced her and rushed towards her. "Luuucyyy, help meee!" She took a quick observation of him as he approached. His eyes were shut tight, his body was covered in bubbly foam and his _whole_ naked body was _really_ covered in foam.

"Natsu! Don't go running around naked!" she scolded as she covered her eyes.

When he arrived in front of her, he was jumping like a monkey, flailing his arms around and panicking like there was no tomorrow. "Lucy, it stings! My eyes, my back, my hands, my arms, my whole bodyyy!"

She got confused for a second on what he was talking about but when the scent of menthol reached her, she instantly realized the problem. The shampoo she had in the bathroom was the mint-eucalyptus variant of her favorite brand which was trendy during summer. It refreshes the scalp but its effect can also...

"Rinse it, quick! It's the shampoo," she ordered, pushing him back to where he came from. She stopped by the bathroom door and left him on his own from there. But since he had his eyes closed, he had to hit his head on the door frame before he could enter. He also slipped on his way back to the shower area. Good thing the toilet was just nearby; he had something to hold onto as he fought his slippery feet to reclaim his balance.

Lucy face-palmed. This was dangerous for her already-injured pet. The shower area was between the toilet bowl and the bathtub; if he would slip once more, he'd probably hit his head on one of those two. She had no other choice but to act as a responsible owner in this situation.

"Don't move," she ordered firmly that he stopped even his breathing. Glad with his immediate obedience, she went to his side and pulled him up cautiously. She guided him to stand beneath the shower head, trying to avoid any physical contact aside from her hands on his wrists as she did so.

"Okay, hold onto this, Natsu." She placed his hands on the 'hot water' knob. He obeyed silently again and she corrected herself for thinking that this was going to be hard. She planned to leave right after turning the 'cold water' knob for him, but when the gushing water hit him, he reached out for help and crazy things happened again.

Lucy definitely forgot two important facts:

1. Cold water enhances the menthol effect.

2. When giving dogs a bath, do not surprise them with the water or they will panic and try to escape.

In Natsu's case, however, it could either be the surprise water or the shampoo-water running down his wounds that caused him to panic. Whichever it was, though, Lucy didn't like the result that emerged. She found herself lying on her knees and elbows on top of the sprawled, naked young man. It was a good thing that her limbs proved useful and propped her up a few inches; at least she was not lying flat on him and feeling everything there was to feel... She was thinking about 'feeling even more _awkward_' or 'feeling _guilty_ of putting all her weight on the injured person', not other things, you naughty people! :p

But taking notice of the way her thighs enclosed his right one and the way her arms unintentionally tackled his arms, she figured that this position shouldn't last any millisecond more! She quickly got off him but made sure that she didn't hit any sensitive parts - his wounds, that is.

Forgetting about his menthol shampoo problem, she thanked the heavens that the foam was still all over his being; her young eyes were still chaste. However, when she saw that his eyes were still closed and he wasn't moving, fear and worry took over her. _'Crap, he must've hit his head on the floor!' _"Natsu! Hey, wake up!" She nudged his arm and fortunately, he flinched and then opened his eyes.

"L-Lucy?..."

'_Good, he still knows who I am. Or would it be better if he hit his head and regained his real memory? But he would suspect me for harassment or something, no way!' _Her thoughts were as fast as her _worried_ heartbeat.

He then sat up with a little difficulty which she noticed and panicked about. _'Did he hit his bones on the floor? OH MY GOD- but wait, he said his body felt heavy... Yeah, that's just it, probably.'_

Her mental argument came to a sudden halt when she saw the smirk that made its way on his lips. Her ears then prepared to receive what he said, word by word. "Lucy, if you want to take a bath with me, just say so. I wouldn't mind at all."

And when her processor confirmed what she heard, her fist found his jaw and he flew right into the bathtub. "Rinse yourself there, perv dog!"

######################################################################

"Lucy, I'm ready!" Natsu brought himself to his owner, all dressed up for their first walk outside - except that he has no shirt on.

"You just put on your scarf after I applied medicine on your wounds! What do you mean you're ready?" she asked in a seemingly angry tone that made his grin retreat. "Do you plan to go out shirtless?"

"It's stuffy if I wear a shirt on top of these plasters and gauze~" he whined and pouted towards the floor, seriously bothered by his problem.

"It's still weird. You will attract too much attention," she countered heartlessly.

"My hands and my head are wrapped in bandages, anyway; I'll attract attention no matter what I wear," he reasoned, showing his poor little paws.

She definitely couldn't rebut that point. Sighing, she took time to think, and that's when she remembered something. She ran to where his new clothes were piled up and searched for something. "Here, wear this instead!" She showed him a set of clothes along with a playful grin.

He took it from her and examined it. The set consisted of a black vest with gold trimmings, white knee-length pants with black adjuster-lace at its hem and a cape-like or skirt-like whatchamacallit piece around the pants that has the same color and detail as the vest. The set even included a brown belt, a black wristband and a pair of black open-toe sandals. His eyebrow rose as he looked back at her. "You're really fond of cosplaying, aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm- Ehhh?" Lucy glanced at her own clothes. "No!"

"You always dress up like a female pop group member or something," he stated nonchalantly, referring to her usual short skirt and cutesy outfit.

"Hey, we're talking about your clothes here, not mine!" she squealed, getting a bit self-conscious.

"Anyway, I like the vest idea, but it won't match my pants." He glanced at his long, brown, baggy pants. "I guess I'll have to go with this whole set and please my master with her cosplay fetish." He shrugged and placed the clothes on the couch, then started unbuttoning his pants.

"I'm not fond of cosplaying!" she retorted, crossing her arms, before getting surprised by what he was doing. "Hey, don't change here!" She grabbed his clothes and pushed him with it towards the bathroom door.

######################################################################

Later on, it was Lucy who was prepping up and Natsu was on the floor again, playing with the puzzling toy that Lucy bought him. He has gotten comfortable with lying on the living room floor, if not on the couch, as if he really were a dog. He didn't know why but Lucy's house was really this cosy.

When she finally came out of her room, she was about say something but the door bell butted in. This caused them both to turn to the door's direction and Lucy volunteered, "I'll get it." Natsu followed her like a dog but stayed a couple of meters behind. She peeked through the peephole and upon recognizing the person behind it, she sighed. A smile was still on her face, though, which, when Natsu noticed, made him wonder who it was.

"Flowers for My Love," Natsu heard a male voice say when the door was opened. He tilted his head a little and saw a young man, about his age, wearing a formal black suit and kneeling down like a loyal servant in front of Lucy. He was holding out a bouquet of vibrant pink roses and a box of probably chocolates which Lucy reluctantly accepted. Natsu's view was partially blocked but he definitely saw the important parts.

The young man with strawberry blonde hair took hold of Lucy's right hand afterwards. She didn't seem to mind it when he planted a kiss on the back of her hand and this caused the blonde boy with azure-tinted sunglasses to smile wider. He then stood up and gazed lovingly at Lucy's face – however she looked like at that time. "Loke, why do you have to greet me that way all the time?" she spoke at last.

"Because you're my princess, Lucy," the guy named Loke replied coolly. "I have told you that a hundred times already, didn't I?" He flashed another bishounen smile.

"Geez, enough with those cheesy lines," Lucy replied, a hint of embarrassment in her tone. "But thanks for these. Though, you didn't have to bother. You don't need to bring gifts just so you can talk to me, you know."

He smirked and said, "I just want to make you happy in every little way."

"Don't use your flirting lines with me; you know it won't work." She crossed her arms.

He merely kept smiling, as if everything she said was a teaspoon of sugar to his coffee. "Well, aren't you gonna let me in?" he then asked, his tone still courteous despite the assertiveness.

"Uh, yeah." Lucy moved aside to give way to her visitor, but she was taken by surprise when he suddenly scooped her up into his arms and carried her inside. "Hey, put me down!"

'_Sly one,' _Natsu thought.

"Oh, who's that fellow?" Loke stopped when he noticed the pink-haired person standing on all fours, staring at them.

"He's my pet, Natsu," Lucy replied cheerfully, momentarily forgetting the situation she was in.

"Oh," was Loke's indifferent response. He went on with carrying her towards the couch.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Lucy seemed to be back to the problem she was in. "And why do you have to carry me?"

"I'm here to discuss our love," he answered right away as he stopped walking.

A second later, he was inching closer to her face. Good thing she was fully alert that she was able to push him away. "Put me down, will you?"

The ever-confident lad smirked once again and said, "As you wish, My Love." He placed her seated on the couch and he sat beside her, his gaze never leaving her, of course. He then took a piece of paper from his jacket and handed it to Lucy. She placed her gifts on the table and Natsu took it as the go signal for a bomb sniffing dog to do his job.

Meanwhile, as Lucy scanned the sheet, Loke took off his jacket and loosened his red necktie a bit. "So you're saying that you are going to be in the same non-major classes as I am this term?" she asked.

"Uh-huh~" He nodded.

"So you dated the dean as well?" She flashed a sarcastic smile.

"No, I just did my best so we can be together whenever possible," he replied coolly again, pushing his sunglasses up with a finger.

"Tch, you don't have to mess up your schedule for me." She crossed her arms and looked away.

"You know I'd do anything to be with you," he countered with a wooing tone.

"And I know you say that to every girl you know." But she was never going to be swayed.

"Oh you know I don't..." It was a whisper from him this time accompanied by a mischievous smile. His manner of saying his last sentence and the fact that he took hold of her shoulders made her turn to face him. Upon making an eye contact, she got dazzled and frozen.

He slowly moved his face closer to hers. "L-Loke..." She knew what was coming, but she couldn't seem to summon enough strength to punch this guy out of her sight. She was able to pull her head back and away from him, but it was only for a limited distance. She can no longer escape what was about to happen.

'_I don't think I want to see this in broad daylight...' _Natsu decided to interfere, "Is he your boyfriend, Lucy?"

The two blonde teens quickly turned to the source of the question. They saw Natsu seating on the floor across the table and looking at them with a blank face. Lucy sighed in relief before she answered, "No, he's not."

"But soon I will be," Loke added right away.

"Oh." He shrugged before he turned back to taste-testing the chocolates on the table.

"Ahh! That's for Lucy!" That very moment, Loke lost the coolness he had been emitting a while ago. It was as if his childishness button has been pressed. "That's for My Love~" he whined as he reached for the chocolates dramatically.

"I have to try them first. Security check." Natsu smirked. Lucy couldn't help but laugh at the two. Natsu kept on munching the choco-goodies and Loke could not do anything.

"Lucy~" the honey-haired lad showed her his cutest pout but she just smiled at it.

Chuckling, she stood up and went to pat Natsu's head. "Good boy, Natsu." She went to the kitchen afterwards.

"This doesn't even taste good. They're bitter," Natsu announced, inspecting the half-bitten heart-shaped chocolate he was holding. It was his third one, actually.

"Lucy said milk chocolates will make her fat so I chose dark chocolates this time!" Loke defended his choco-hearts. His statement, though, made Natsu look at Lucy and then stifle a violent laugh. Natsu had imagined her being three times fatter and still gobbling up chocolates. "Hey, don't think of nasty thoughts about her!" Loke stood up.

"You're the one who suggested the idea." Natsu stood up as well.

"Why you..."

"Wanna fight?"

"Bring it on!"

Lucy stood in between them, just in time to be the referee. "Stop it, you two." She then looked at Loke and said, "You should be nice to him. He's my pet," and she handed him a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah, I know but—EHHH? Did you say PET?" Loke's eyes were almost popping out of his sunglasses.

"She said it twice already," Natsu apathetically muttered as he went back to the chocolates.

"Shut up," Loke shot back. He then pouted at Lucy who just walked past him towards her previous spot on the couch. "So you're into boy pets~" He sat beside her and placed the juice he was holding on the table. It was right on time that Natsu choked so he drank the orange juice without getting noticed by the other two.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I can be your pet lion," Loke stated, lifting some spikes of his hair to imitate a lion's mane. "Or a kitten, if you want something cuter..." He then rubbed his cheek on her shoulder affectionately as he purred.

His actions sent shivers down Lucy's spine as some veins popped on her forehead in irritation. "I'm not into boy pets! I just found him wounded and I treated his wounds and-"

"And he suggested that he'll be your pet?" Loke's seriousness was back, which surprised her. She only managed a nod as a response. "That's fishy," Loke stated blatantly.

"I'm a dragon-dog!" Apparently, it was Natsu's stupid side who heard him and Loke just ignored it.

"So he lives here now?" Loke frowned at Lucy, still looking so cute whether intentional or not. She nodded heartlessly in response, crushing the little lion's heart. Good thing he came up with a good idea right away. "Hey, I know! I'll live here too so I can guard you from him!" He then curled up and rested his head on her lap, acting like a harmless little kitty and rubbing his paws on his cheeks. "Nyaaa~"

"No way!" She pushed his head off her, making him fall on the floor. He pouted at her again and squatted, trying the poor little kitty act this time. "I'm not going to be defeated by that cute—er, pitiful look." She crossed her arms and looked away but he continued acting like a cat and rubbed his face on her knee. He was smiling innocently now as he continued his "Nyaann~"

Seeing this as a clear challenge, Natsu crawled to Lucy's other side and unleashed his pitiful puppy eyes attack. She smiled and rubbed his hair when she saw it – a lucid sign of victory. "Don't worry, Natsu. I won't be keeping him."

"Mou!~" Loke whined, "I'm getting jealous." He took her free hand and put it on his head. "Pet me too~" She blinked once in surprise before she sighed, smiling. She rubbed the poor lion's hair too, feeling guilty of making him feel bad.

He seemed to be enjoying it now, that he even stuck his tongue out at Natsu. The pink-haired dragon-dog did the same thing. The two got hooked up in a silly-face-making contest until Lucy spoke, "Don't you have any dates lined up today, Loke?"

"Shit! I forgot!" Unbelievably, the cute little kitty said that as he glanced at his watch. Lucy let go of his hair and he stood up. "I guess I'll be going, My Princess." To her surprise, yet again, he bent down, propped one knee on the couch and one hand on its backrest and leaned closer to her. It was either he moved faster this time or he just started at a closer distance. Their lips were separated only by an inch when Natsu barked and Lucy realized that she had to block the predator in front of her. Her hand made it in time, lucky for her. She pushed him, still somewhat gently though, and he just smirked. "I thought I was finally gonna score today," he said as he took her hand in his.

"It's still a million years too early," she replied, trying to sound cool despite her obvious uneasiness.

"I'm willing to wait a million years for you, Lucy," he declared softly before he kissed her hand. He then faced Natsu and said, "It's your fault, Dragon-Dog!"

"Don't get so cocky, Lion-Kitty!"

They were about to start a fight again when Lucy threw Loke's jacket onto his head. "Your girl who requested for a black suit fancy date is waiting, whoever she is."

He grinned at her as he put it on. "Oh, don't be jealous, Lucy. You know it's just my life-long mission to make all girls happy. My heart, my body and my soul are all yours." He winked at her.

"Tch," was all she replied.

"You know, putting on the jacket that you handed me makes me feel like we're husband and wife," he said as he fixed himself. He left the jacket unbuttoned, though.

"Oh, cut it out!" She pushed him towards the door.

"Ciao, My Love." He flashed his killer smile before she could close the door.

"Sheesh, if only he's a bit less of a Casanova..." she muttered before sighing. "Natsu." Her tone cheered up when she called him. "Let's make sure he's gone before we go out, okay?" He merely barked and she led him to the balcony to sneakily check if Loke's car left.

'_That's one weird suitor,' _Natsu thought.

######################################################################

A few minutes later, Natsu and Lucy went out of their apartment unit. She locked the door and he just watched her. When she turned to him, she looked rather surprised and bent down next to him right away, saying, "Natsu, you don't have to walk like a dog outside."

"I don't?" he repeated.

"Yeah. That'd be embarrassing for you...and for me," she said while laughing foolishly.

Before he could reply, a male voice interrupted and called, "Lucy."

Upon hearing it, her whole body perked up. She stood up and turned towards the other person stiffly, saying, "G-Gray s-senpai..."

"What's up?" The black-haired shirtless guy, who just let go of the knob of the adjacent door, beamed conceitedly at her.

His smile and the fact that he was half-nakedly approaching made her stutter even more. "I-I— We're—Actually, it's-"

Since Lucy was beside Natsu that time, he could see how her face was flushing. '_That's a new side I haven't seen,' _he thought, smirking inwardly. He then looked at the other person and noticed the familiarity of his face. _'This guy... Isn't he the one in that photo?' _He recalled Lucy's high school picture where a stern-looking guy was caught in the background.

The black-haired lad looked back at him with a surprised yet amused expression. "Is this the pet you were talking about?" he asked, glancing at Lucy. Natsu kept his watchful eyes on the guy. The way this dude was looking at him somehow annoyed him. It was as if the smirk he was wearing was just covering an evil glare or something.

"Uh, yes, he's Natsu, Gray-senpai," she shyly stated. She quickly looked away when Gray's eyes found hers.

"I'm quite surprised to know that it's a human pet," Gray said casually, throwing a glance at Natsu when he said "it's".

This annoyed Natsu even more. _'Then refer to me like how you would with a human!'_

Gray's statement, however, startled Lucy. "Uhm, it's- it's actually a long story. You see, he was unconscious there and I helped him and I treated his wounds and he doesn't remember who he is and he said he'll be my dog for the meantime as a thank you and-" She stopped when she heard him laugh. She actually gawked at him as he laughed, but she shook her head vehemently upon realizing what she was doing. "It's uh, weird, isn't it?" Her tone and expression were trying to hide the embarrassment she was experiencing. If it were possible, she would have been shrinking herself by now.

"Yeah, it's weird," he ascertained, still chuckling. His words were like icy lances that struck her in an instant, but she was strong enough to still be able to stand. "You're really fond of helping people." His continuation, however, lit her spirits up; it was a complete turn-around. "You're really kind, Lucy." This one made the smile she was wearing grow ridiculously wider. She then drifted off to her own world at the side as Gray focused on Natsu.

The sharp-eared dog, nonetheless, heard Lucy alternately commend and reprimand herself like, "He said I'm really kind~" "Stop it, Lucy! I thought you got over with that crush!" "But he's really cool~ and he praised me~" "His girlfriend will kill you if you keep being like that!"

"Hey," Gray's voice turned Natsu's attention away from the blonde. The former squatted down to his level and said, "Just try something stupid on Lucy and I'll freeze you alive, you got that?" Gray's eyes looked really serious but it was, at the same time, annoying for Natsu.

A deep growl sounded from the pink-haired lad who was clenching his teeth. "Are you picking a fight?"

"Oh, so you're a talking dog?" Gray mocked, his smirk back on his face.

"I am a dragon-dog, Droopy Eyes."

"What's so dragonish about you, Squinty Eyes?"

"Wanna find out?" Natsu raised a fist.

Gray ignored it and just kept on smirking. He never lost his coolness the whole time. "Sorry but I don't find beating up an injured pet enjoyable. Try to recover first before you challenge me." He laughed and gave Natsu's pink head a pat before he stood up. He then turned to the girl beside them and said, "Lucy, if this dog misbehaves, call me okay? I'll be the one to teach him a lesson."

"H-hai," was all she could say as she was still caught up in a trance. Gray was about to turn away when she remembered something, "Uh, Gray-senpai."

He replied with a friendlier "Hm?" this time.

"Thank you for teaching me how to treat his wounds and sprain better," she said swiftly, bowing down a little.

"Don't mention it. Just tell me whenever you need any help." His smile made her blush madly again.

"Hai..." she muttered softly. She cupped her warm cheeks with her palms as she watched him walk towards the staircases. When he was already up and out of sight, that was when she remembered, "Gray-senpai, your clothes!" Knowing it was impossible for him to hear her, she just sighed and muttered, "He's probably heading to the gym upstairs but he doesn't have to be shirtless on the way there..."

Natsu, on the other hand, stared at his owner and smirked. _'She's surrounded by weird guys... Well, she's a weirdo anyway.'_

###################################**To Be**###################################

###################################**Continued**###################################

**Author's Notes:**

1. The kidnapping for internal organs, sad to say but it really happens. T.T and the victims were mostly children -.- may their souls rest in peace :(

2. Natsu's "Hora hora hora hora hora~" was inspired by the anime scene where he hit Brain's talking skull staff on the ground. Natsu was really cute when he did that, wasn't he? ^o^

3. The watermelonseed spitting/sputtering, I learned that from Mojacko when I was young. (Disclaimer: I don't own Mojacko nor Fairy Tail.) That's the kiddie anime Natsu was talking about. I even saw Sakuragi (of Slam Dunk, which I don't own as well) do that too just recently!xp I also do that now, and it's because of seed-spitting that I've gotten to like eating watermelon, which I didn't like before. (It's because I have long-planned Natsu to spit watermelon seeds in this fic, so whenever I'm eating watermelon, I remember Natsu and those watermelon scene and scenes-to-be of this fic, waiii~ XD) It's fun, you try it too! XD

4. The said fact about giving dogs a bath, well, I think that applies to dogs that are not yet used to baths. When I first gave my youngest puppy a bath, (her name's Coffee, by the way :p) she squealed and flailed her little paws around when I was holding her and she tried to escape a lot of times. :p

5. The stinging shampoo trouble was inspired by Kimi wa Petto (which I do not own too XD crap, I wish I own something! XD) but I modified it completely, even the shampoo, I made it extra stinging by making it Mint+Eucalyptus XD

Yay, finished with the third chapter of MPD at last! ^o^ (my 'Twins' readers are gonna kill me for sure 0_0) This was my first time portraying Loke #_# How was he? ^_^ You will learn more about Loke and Gray next time :p By the way, congratulations to those who guessed correctly who the Suitor and the Ex-crush were! XD Here's your prize, Frozen Lion Cookies! *hands out weird cookies to everyone* XD

I hope you don't find the POV changes confusing. I do that so there can be hidden thoughts and feelings :p (nah, just reducing my problems in writing XD) What is/are the scene(s) you like the most? Please tell me about it, as well as what you felt and thought while reading, hehehe :p If you feel like fan-girling, feel free to 'Kyaaaaa!' with me XD

Thank you for reading this! ^o^ I hope you enjoyed it. :D My real pets give me the inspiration and ideas whenever I scratch/caress them and whenever they act cute!~ ^o^ (that includes getting tangled with a leash XD) Oh, and please check out my other Fairy Tail fic as well, _The Cure to His Motion Sickness_! ^_^

Thank you to all who fed My Pet Dragon with reviews last time ^o^ and to those who added him to their faves and alerts :D He's so happy that he's flying around the house~ XD please continue to make him happy (feed him) so he will not eat me XD

**###**

Now here are the specific replies to the reviews. I hope you really don't mind this 'Review Replies' section ^_^; As a reviewer, I just feel happy when the author responds to my review and even replies to me publicly XD I feel special hahaha XD I just think it might make my reviewers happy too :p and I just appreciate your feedback a lot! ^.^ they make me smile non-stop while reading them XP

**lol **– you reviewed both chapters, thank you! ^.^ hehe, it's silly for a dragon to bark, ne? XD yay, I kept my word! XD I hope this chappie is way longer than the AN too :p you got me intrigued there when you mentioned 'being her pet' and then stopped XD it's a really weird idea for a rich successor like him to be a pet, isn't it? ^_^ but I think this chapter somehow explains his reason :p hehehe, I'm glad you like that smart phone throw thing XD haw, it took me more than two weeks, gomen ^_^; but trust me, I can be worse when it comes to update intervals, hahaha XD thanks again! :D

**HinaSnowBastia **– ehe, thank you ^_^ this chappy includes samples of his being a dragon-dog, I hope you like them ^-^ thanks for adding MPD to your favourites too! :D

**IrishElvnorWhiteDreyar **– you changed your name! But you're still a Dreyar, yeah XD your Laxus-oniichan is so cool in the latest of the manga, ne? :p thank you, hope you like this update too! =) tell me what you think about it~ ^^

**summer's lullaby** – thank you! ^o^ Natsu loves you too—I mean, My Pet Dragon loves you too XD yep, a sly Natsu is still cute, isn't it? (all of Natsu is cute!) ^o^ I remember the evil smile he wore when he tricked Lucy to dress up as a maid :p

**Panchan** – thank you! Thank you! ^o^ Hahaha, 'cheeky bastard', that's a good one XD I hope you like this update too :D

**NewMusic098** – weee, thank you! ^o^ haha, oo nga, opposite ng reality dito, buhay nga naman, pag nasa harapan na nilalayasan pa, pero pag nawawala, hanap nang hanap. Ang drama! XD hehe, oo nga, parang exciting din magkaron ng human pet, lalo na kung maraming useful skills XD hmmm, your ideas are interesting! XD some of those will happen, though in a different way...basta surprise na lang, ilang years later pa siguro bago maitala sa kasulatan, hahaha, joke lang XD yung peace treaty na yan lalo, hahaha XD naisip ko rin yan pero...secret muna! XD hahaha, NaLi? What on earth is that? XD joke hahaha XD waiii, umaapaw sa stars, i like stars! XD salamat! ^o^

**Kiwired **– waiii! So I'm your first reviewee! I'm happy and honored~ \(^o^)/ yes, venture in fan fic writing! it's fun :D oh yes, I actually forgot about his back being torn, thank you for reminding me XD ^-^ how silly I forgot XD I found an excuse, though XD since last chapter, it was Natsu's POV and Natsu couldn't see his back so he didn't mention it, hahaha XD boo, lame excuse, ne? XD but his back wounds are mentioned in this chap already, thank you for pointing that out! ^o^ and yes, it's painful, ow, poor Natsu T.T thank you, I'm glad those things came as unexpected to you \(^.^)/

Natsu: yeah, don't throw your phone around, it's _really _unhealthy. Ow, my injuries are killing me~ *Natsu blushed when you cuddled him* Plue can be the nickname for Plucy! Why can't people understand me?~~~

Me: *ignores Natsu* haha, wanna strip him too! XD who wouldn't want to, anyway~ *drools* XD hahaha, Natsu looking so girly-accessorized and angry, that's funny too XD I actually planned to write there bracelet, necklace, rings, and maybe earrings, but the necklace —he's already wearing a scarf, the necklace as an accessory would be of no use— and earrings – I didn't want to pierce Natsu's ears, it might become permanent! (haha XD) so I left it up to the readers to imagine XD but speaking of a coolly accessorized Natsu, I saw a picture of him from the manga, he's wearing a necklace, an earring, a ring and a cool jacket, he's so cool! (And hot as always! XD) awww, thanks for giving me a wake-up-and-update call (review) haha XD it's so thoughtful of you to even drop by and review just to ask me to update ^.^ that means... I'm effectively making you crave for more MPD! *evil laugh* bwahaha! Just kidding XD thanks so much! Hope to hear your comments again! :D

**Queen of Narnia49** – weee, I'm glad you found it funny ^.^ I hope this chapter made you laugh even more XD thanks for subscribing as well =)

**PhoenixedDragon** – yay! This chapter has those awkward moments, ne? ^.^ yep, hiding a lot XD I like stories with main characters who have big secrets~ XD weeeeee! Thank you ^.^ I hope you like this chapter too =) Lucy's Ex-crush showed up here! Have you guessed who he was correctly? :p thank you for subscribing as well! :D

**MirageIceDragonSlayer** – haha, I'm glad it made you laugh XD hope this chapter did too! =) thanks for subscribing too :)

**Lucy Dragneel **– yep yep, he's a mixture of stupid and sly in here ^_^ :p thank you for liking him! ^.^ aww, thank you thank you! ^o^ i'm touched~ :3 *me, Lucy and Natsu hug you* weeee! ^.^ we hope you like this chapter too, it's long like the previous one :D

**narutos lover **– thank you! ^.^ My Pet Dragon also loves those who love him! :D (and feed him XD) thanks for subscribing as well :D tell me what you think about this one~ :3

**PoeticNonsenseNinjaStyle **– hehe, I'm glad you found it cute~ ^.^ thanks for adding this to your favorites! :D

**dexter-dash** – yay! I'm happy you find it that way! :D hehe, yep, sneaky Natsu! ^o^ weee! My Pet Dragon made you intrigued!~ *he's happy* roar! XD ehe, it took me more than two weeks, gomen ^_^ but I hope you enjoyed this update ^-^ please tell me what you think about it :D and thank you for the triple boom! You added MPD to your favorite dragons and subscribed to both MPD and me, yay! ^o^

**Xythri** – weeeeee! I'm overloading with your praises!~~ ^o^ *squeals, squirms, squeaks* thank you! \(^.^)/ thanks for subscribing too :D I hope you like the first few days of Natsu being the pet (this chapter), too~ ^.^

**Footster26 **– Thank you! ^.^ oh me too! I wish he were my pet too! XD but since I couldn't have him, I'll just pour out all my Natsu-pet ideas in this fic! XD if you have those Natsu-pet ideas too, feel free to suggest! XD

**Hachibukai **– yay! Thanks for the double reviews and the triple boom! XD (alert and faves :D) now that you mention it, yeah, it is weird to find a man wearing just pants and scarf XD but if it's Natsu (the sculpted-body Natsu) it's sizzling hot—er weird! XD weeeeee! Tenkyuuu~ My Pet Dragon says he loves you too XD Correct!~ *Gray hands you a Frozen Lion Cookie as a prize* XD

Gray: Enjoy it, Joy. *smirks*

Rei: *imitates Happy* He llllllikes you~ XD Kyaaaa, thank you! ^o^ hehe, yep his name is really Natsu XD how convenient that there's a calendar with a Natsu kanji dangle XD weeee! You love his introduction and he's not OOC for you, yay! ^o^ hahaha, you sure have good fortune-telling powers there! XD you warned Natsu~ smack him if his devious plan backfires on him XD here is the update, teden! *serves Gray—er, the third chapter* hope you like it!~ ^o^

**urusaii** – yay, umabot yung review mo bago ko matapos yung chapter 3! XD thanks for the double review and the favorite-alert combos! ^o^ weee, exciting daw, yay! Haha, uu yung Kimi wa Petto ni MatsuJun din pinanood ko kasi fan girl din ako ni Jun hahaha XD haha, nako don't worry, iba yung takbo ng drama kesa sa fic na to kaya di ka masspoil :p pero kumuha rin ako ng ideas dun xp ay, gusto ko rin yung ganyan, pag nanonood ng iba, si Natsu at Lucy ang iniimagine XD (sobrang maka-NaLu e XD) pero yung main girl sa Kimi wa Petto, ibang iba kay Lucy~ pero may onting similarities din siguro kaya pwede pa rin XD yay, excited at curious! Hahaha, ako rin nag-Tagalog na simula palang e XD hahahahaha! Nag-space out XD nako sa chapter na to, may iba pang outfit si Natsu tulad ng strawberry pajamas, brown baggy pants (at scarf lang ulet) at foam! XD ano kaya reaction mo dun~ ;)) yup yup, mabait naman si Uncle Jude~ kaya kakalungkot nung namatay sya =( pero at least naging bati naman sila ni Lucy sa huling pagkikita nila #_#

Tama ang mga hula mo! XD may Frozen Lion Cookie ka rin! XD hahaha, diba no, style sa mga crush! XD pero di sadya ni Lucy yun, pero kineep nya yung picture, ohohoho~ ^o^ hahaha, akala nila kung ano tinatawanan mu dyan XD sana kiligin at matawa ka rin sa chapter na toooo!~ ^o^ weeee! Thank you! ^^ haha, yay, enjoy the Hiro-niichan goodies :p galing nya magdrawing no? ^o^

**Ambitious Rookie, NatsuXLucyForever, crazy4fairytail, Sara16pokemon, **and **deaththecripple **– Thank you for the favorite story and story alert combo! ^o^ you made My Pet Dragon happy that he wants to hug you guys! *dragon hug*

**Princess-of-Fire-and-Ice-44** and **Krunchyyy** – Thank you for availing the free Dragon subscription! ^o^

**Goddess of All the Universes, EvelinChan **and **duskbird** – Thank you for making My Pet Dragon your favorite dragon! ^o^

Please tell My Pet Dragon what you think about this chapter~ ^.^ A rain of thanks to all! \(^o^)/


	4. The Weird Ones

**My Pet Dragon**

_by Rei-chu Asakura_

**AN: **I'm back, minna-san! Sorry it took soooooo long ^_^ If I try to write fast so I can update as soon as possible, it might become a crappy output, but I just want to express the ideas for now, I guess I'll revise whatever comes out someday XD without further ado, here's the fourth chappie! :D (I do not own Fairy Tail!)

**Chapter 4: The Weird Ones**

"Isn't that dangerous?" Natsu muttered lazily, earning an enthusiastic headshake from Lucy.

"I do this all the time. Don't worry," she replied with a childish grin.

As soon as they got out of the apartment, Lucy hurried towards the river wall across the street and walked along the stone path it offered. It was only about a foot high and was wide enough to let a person stand on both feet, but the danger in it was that one mistake could send you bathing in the river. "It's fun to walk here. There's some sort of a thrill and a soothing wind at the same time. Try it!" she eagerly suggested, though her eyes were focused on the clear water that was reflecting Magnolia's afternoon skies.

"Nah, no thanks, weirdo," the pink-haired lad muttered, reducing the last word into a whisper as he lazily folded his arms behind his head.

"Plue and I used to walk here everytime," she added in a weak but still cheerful tone.

Insensitive as he was, Natsu merely replied, "Oh, so you're both weirdos."

This made the girl giggle. "You speak like you aren't one."

He just smirked in response, his eyes now drawn by the facade of the apartment building they came out from. _'Thrill huh?...' _ In a matter of seconds, he was able to come up with an audacious plan of going in and out of their apartment unit by a shortcut - hopping onto the apartment compound wall, then onto the nearby lamp post, then the third floor unit's balcony railings and finally, Lucy's balcony. Knowing how agile he can be, he pictured himself jumping from one point to another without difficulty. _'Now that's what thrill means.'_

As they headed towards the clinic that Lucy knows about, Natsu had the chance to ask her his little curiosities. "Hey, could you tell me more stuff about you? A pet should know his master, right?"

She giggled at the fact that he was interested in her and was serious about his role. "Alright then, I'll tell you about myself a little more." She reached out to ruffle his hair, almost tripping in the process when he tried to dodge. "I've been living here in Magnolia to study in Fiore University. I'm already in the second year of Business Administration, though my dream is to become a successful writer, actually." She chuckled.

'_Oh, another similarity, huh?' _Natsu thought. _'Business-minded dads tend to be pushy with the business path, indeed.' _"I thought your course was something related to writing," he said in all honesty. "I saw some papers with novel-like writings yesterday and—"

"Ahhhh! Did you read it? Did you?!" she inquired.

"Uh, no?" He was confused with the way she reacted.

"Whew, good thing." She sighed. "I don't want anyone to read it yet since it's not yet good enough. I'm still a novice when it comes to writing." She cupped her blushing cheeks.

"Don't worry, no one's gonna read it anyway," he replied unenthusiastically.

"I don't want that either!" she piped. "I want my works to be published and read by many someday~" she added dreamily.

He just spared her a smirk at her silly look before changing the topic. "What about those two guys earlier? How did you get involved with such weird people?"

She chuckled as she answered, "Well, Gray-senpai is our neighbor. He lives just next door and he studies in FU as well."

"Same course?"

"No, we're from the same high school that's why I call him senpai."

"Oh. So you two have been good friends since high school?"

"No. He actually didn't know about my existence until we became neighbors here." She laughed foolishly, making Natsu think that there was something odd in the way she said it. "Gray-senpai was famous in high school," she explained. "He's skilful in various things which include basketball, archery, guitar, kendo, swimming, other sports and other musical instruments – name it and he's good at it." She even counted with her fingers and looked really proud of the person she was talking about. "He was known as the Ice Prince not only because he's cool but also because he's known to be a laid-back, cold person who can also be icy and harsh with words. That's still a heartthrob factor though - being a cool, mean, bad boy on the outside but a really nice guy on the inside." She looked dreamy yet again, cupping her cheeks as she looked at the sky.

Seeing her this way made Natsu ask, "You like him, don't you?" At first he looked uninterested but when her face flushed, a mischievous cat-like smile formed on his face. She tried to deny it with all her might but she was blushing madly and giving away the truth.

Lucy then changed the topic -an obvious effort to get off the hot seat- by saying, "Gray-senpai helps me most of the time when it comes to medicines and chemicals because he knows a lot about it."

"Oh, so that's why you thanked him earlier?" He looked not so interested but he kept the conversation flowing by asking such follow-ups.

"Yup. His mom and dad are both doctors, that's probably one reason why he's knowledgeable about those things," she said, raising a finger while stating a fact. "But he doesn't plan to be a doctor like them. He's taking Chemical Engineering with Cryogenics as his major. He's interested in the wonders of very low temperatures." Natsu looked like he wanted to ask 'why' so she generously continued, "Well, he said you can stop a heartbeat and make a person appear dead by rapid freezing, and there are a lot of things you can do with low temperature, so I guess it must be really interesting."

''Lucky him, his parents didn't force him become a doctor as well." Natsu said with a shrug.

"What do you mean?"

"Most of the time, parents want their child to take a similar path as them, right? Especially if it runs in the family," he stated matter-of-factly before snickering and saying, "Maybe he's just adopted, that's why."

He was surprised to see Lucy staring at him with those comically teary eyes. "That's true."

"Ehhh?!"

She then explained the matter. "His real parents died in an accident when he was very young and he lived in an orphanage till his parents now adopted him." Natsu was now listening intently. "He said his parents originally wanted him to become a doctor too, but since he has something else he likes, and they are really good parents afterall, and he has a younger sister who wants to become a doctor anyway, they really don't have a problem with that matter." She smiled sheepishly.

"You sure know alot about your crush, huh?" He smirked.

"Nah, I'm just friends with his younger sister and she spends time with me whenever she visits him so we get to talk about- Hey! I told you he's not my crush!" She was animatedly fuming as she denied it.

"Whatever you say weirdo~"

"Speaking of weird," she went back to serious mode again. "As you may have noticed, Gray-senpai has a weird habit of stripping. You will often see him shirtless or going out with just his boxers on, so you must remind him of his clothes whenever that happens, okay?"

"Uhh, okay...?" Natsu's brow rose. "Why does he have that weird habit anyway?"

"It's because of cryogenics." She laughed before continuing, "His research adviser who has been his professor since his first year wanted him to get used to low temperatures, saying it's 'training' to face the coldness with his bare body. That's why he has developed a habit of taking off his shirt without realizing it, just like how he probably was earlier." She sighed at the weirdness of it.

"Oh, so that's why you weren't even bothered to see me shirtless?" Natsu confirmed. "Typical girls would scream, right?" He remembered his friend, Lisanna, screaming when she accidentally sees him shirtless and scolds him for being so.

"Not exactly," she muttered with a sarcastic smile.

"You are used to seeing his naked body, aren't you?" he asked nonchalantly, which shocked her, but he didn't notice. "So you won't get mad if I will be shirtless when I sleep every night?" When he looked at her, she was blushing madly which made him laugh. "Why are you red?"

"I am not used to seeing Gray-senpai naked! And I am not _blushing_! I told you I don't like him!" she denied spontaneously.

"I didn't say anything about blushing and liking him, you know?" Natsu smiled wickedly upon seeing her realize her own mistake.

She was taken aback but quickly found an excuse, "I mean, it's just the weather! It's quite hot, so-"

"You still have a crush on him, don't you?" He found it amusing to tease her. He even nudged her with his elbow in a taunting manner, his eyebrows going up and down in the process.

"No, I don't," was her flat reply.

"Reeaaally?~ Then... why didn't you cut him off your high school picture even if he ruins the background and the happy mood of it?"

She took time to realize what he meant, and when she did, her face turned red again. She stomped her foot and tried to make herself confident when she answered, "Well, it doesn't matter. He's from the same high school anyway and I don't mind that photo being that way and—"

"Give it up, Lucy." He laughed.

Natsu looked like he won't listen to any more explanations so she could only pout, sigh and give up. "Alright, alright, I admit that I _did_ like him before... but now I've gotten over that simple crush."

"Gotten over it? I don't think so." His undefeated chuckle made her crease her nose in feign irritation.

Still pouting, she stated, "He's... my EX-Crush now!"

"Ex... crush?"

"Yes that's right, Ex-crush." She crossed her arms, trying to act cool despite her hot blush.

"So you mean he's your 'Ex' but you still like him even now?" Natsu looked innocent and honestly thinking that way.

"NOOOOO! That's not it! Ex-crush! It means former crush!" Lucy looked like she was at the edge of her embarrassment threshold.

"Ohhh."

"Mou, don't jump into weird conclusions, Natsu." Now, she was squirming like a fan-girl because she couldn't help but imagine it.

"You're the weird one," he said coldly, making her snap out of her trance.

"Well, whatever! He has a girlfriend you know, so there's no point in having a crush on him," she stated quite bitterly. "I'd just get drowned or killed by his scary girlfriend if she catches me fan-girling on Gray-senpai."

"If there's a will, there's a way~" he lazily intoned.

"Enough with him!" Her eyes squinted in annoyance.

"Okay, then how about the Lion-Kitty person?" His curiosity shifted onto another topic that easily.

"You mean Loke?"

"Yeah, LiOn-KitteE." He snickered. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No!"

"Your suitor?"

"Well, maybe we can say it that way but... I actually told him to stop a lot of times already but he doesn't listen to me." She sighed.

"So you don't like him?" Natsu sounded quite indifferent all throughout, but he kind of felt sad for the Loke guy if he's clinging onto some sort of illusionary hope.

"It's not like that," Lucy answered. "He's a good person and he has everything a girl is looking for in a guy but... It's just that, he's the playboy type... Even if he's wooing me or something, he still goes on dates with a lot of girls, just like today."

"Oh, so you prefer the stick-to-one type?"

"Well, who wouldn't?" She shrugged. "But we can't blame him for being the playboy he is."

"What do you mean?"

"It's actually his so-called life mission or dream to serve all girls and make them happy."

"Wha- Weird." He smiled but his eyebrow perked up in confusion. "Why is that?"

"Well, I don't know if I'm in the position to tell this-"

"Tell me!" She was still hesitating so he added, "Oh, come on! You have told me that Stripper is an adopted child."

"Hey, I didnt tell you exactly! You just guessed it correctly! And don't call him stripper!"

"There's no confidential stuff-whatever to worry about. I'm just your pet and you can tell secrets to your pet and be sure that he won't spill it out to others." He grinned.

"Oh, alright. I'm sure you're not going to stop pushing anyway." She sighed then turned serious. "The reason is... He blamed himself for the death of his mother a few years ago." Natsu's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Well, it was actually an accident, but he insists that it was his fault. He said if he did not defend his sister back then, his mother wouldn't have left that day and encountered that accident."

She looked at him as if convincing him seriously. "But Loke just did what an older brother would naturally do, right?" He found her weird but he just nodded. She looked down as she continued, "He said his mother has always been hurting and beating up his sister for various reasons, and that day, he has had enough of it so he stood up for his sister. Unfortunately, things had to end up in a cruel way. When his mother went out to vent the frustration he caused her, she was hit by a car on her way and-"

She sounded like she was about to cry so Natsu cut in, "Hey, don't cry now."

"Shut up!" She thought he was mocking her again because he didn't sound sincere.

"Then what happened?" he asked after confirming that she was okay.

"He..." Lucy started in a sad way, "He kept blaming himself and one day came to a resolution that he would dedicate his life to making all the girls in the world happy." At the end, she couldn't hold back the sheepish grin again because of the weirdness of what she said.

"What?!" The pink-haired lad looked completely bewildered.

"I know it's a bit weird but, you know, he's doing that for his mother, as well as his sister's sake," she explained. "He couldn't stand seeing girls suffer or be sad, so he'll help or cheer up whoever girl in need. Then they'll end up going out on a date... or being friends at least." She smiled sheepishly again.

"Oh. Weird, but he has a good reason behind it." Seemingly convinced, Natsu nodded while having his arms crossed.

"Yeah. Loke's still a nice guy afterall," she agreed.

"So you don't like him even if he's a good person who just has a bad past?" he inquired like a celebrity interviewer.

"No, it's not like that." The smile she was wearing as she opposed looked like it was hiding something so Natsu gave his best efforts to look like a cute pet who was hungry for more information. This made Lucy sigh and smile before continuing, "He said when I finally agree to be his girlfriend, he will put an end to his so-called life-long mission, but I couldn't selfishly keep him to myself and away from his dream or mission and from the other girls, right?" His forehead creased so she gave an example, "You know, it's like gathering all the stock-keeping units (SKUs) of a certain chocolate bar to yourself and leaving the whole world out of this certain choco bar."

"Ohh. That would be selfish indeed." He nodded in agreement.

"Now you're getting my point." She smiled.

"But why are you the person he's willing to give himself exclusively to?" He had a good curious point again.

"Well, it happened when I met him," she started, "We were actually classmates in one of my PE classes before but we didn't get to talk. He even seemed scared of me after I demonstrated how I suck at volleyball and hit the opponents' heads while making the ball bounce away. Anyway, as I was saying, the first time we actually met each other was when he was caught in a messed-up date schedule last Valentine's day. I happened to pass by and saw him getting chased by a mob of angry girls so I helped him hide. But I scolded him later on of course."

Natsu imagined the scene, Loke was getting scolded by the Lucy he barely knew.

_**#####################Flashback#####################**_

"What?" Lucy's forehead creased in confusion after Loke told her his story. "No one is blaming you; you don't have to do that to punish yourself," she said in a calm and convincing tone. "You said you are okay with your sister and your grandfather, who took you two in and has supported your studies and needs since then, so it doesn't seem like someone's blaming you for what happened."

He looked down and remained silent, so she added, "You'll only be hurting more girls if you date a lot of them at the same time and get found out, just like what happened today."

"You're right..."

His gloomy aura intensified so she rummaged her brain for some sort of suggestion, "I think... Uhm, if you really want to make girls happy, why not do it in a better way? Like make a book on 'how to make the girl you like the happiest' or something like that?" She smiled shyly. Her love of books was springing up out of instinct, but this idea caught his interest, so she continued with more confidence, "You said you're an expert at dealing with girls and pampering them, so you can make such a manual and share your knowledge so all the guys in the world can help you make all the girls in the world happy. At least, some sort of a solution that wouldn't involve multiple dating!"

Loke's eyes glimmered as he took hold of her hands and stared thankfully at her. "You're a genius, Lucy-san! You're so nice that I think I'm... I'm falling for you~"

"Eeek!" She pulled back her hands before she was victimized. She had to admit, though, that he was charming and dangerous, so she let her righteous self take over and scold him instead. "Be serious, will you?!"

"No, I am serious." He looked at her emitted all sincerity he could muster. Then he explained in a serious and partly sad tone, "I actually got really scared today when all those girls got angry with me. It's like the pain and fear I felt when I lost my mom returned to me, but you came just in time to save me, Lucy-sama." He tried holding her hand again but she was fast enough to avoid it.

"Don't call me Lucy-sama," she said out of panic, but she relaxed when he flashed his most honest smile.

"Seriously, Lucy-san, I'm really thankful," he said in a melodic voice. "Anyone could doubt my story and say that it is just an excuse to be a playboy, but you believed in what I said and even cheered me up."

She smiled in return. "It's nothing. I just felt that I can trust you so—"

"Whoa, you gotta be careful of that, Lucy-sama." Loke chuckled. "You shouldn't trust someone just based on feelings."

"No, no, I mean, all in all, I figured I can trust you... that what you're saying are true." She chuckled as well. "Your eyes somehow changed from when you were fooling around about that 'stars who can't go back to the sky' pick-up line to that time you were telling me about your sister."

He just smiled at her statement, feeling a bit ashamed that she had to slap him a while ago when he fooled around with those dramatic lines all because he didn't know how and to whom he could express his lonely feelings accurately. "When I finish that book, Lucy-sama, I will retire from being a playboy. And then maybe I can make another one or think of other ways to make girls happy..." He then cupped her cheek, taking her by surprise. "To make you happy..."

"Ahh no, you don't have to include me." She laughed foolishly as she escaped his hold.

He smirked. "For now, I hope you would still allow me to continue my method of atoning for my sins, Lucy-sama, for I still have no other ways apart from that." He took her right hand into his again and kissed it gently.

"H-huh? I-I'm not- Why are you-" She wasn't only stuttering, also panicking. "D-don't- J-just-" She exhaled to calm herself down. "Just make sure they won't be expecting loyalty from you. I mean, at least, be honest with them and tell them that it's your life mission and tell them your story. Just don't joke around when you do, so they will believe you. Anyway, if you tell them that you are doing that because you just want them to be happy, then I guess they would understand and accept you."

"Yes, Lucy my dear." He clasped lovingly the hand that she has forgotten to take back. "And when I finally get to reach my goal, I hope you would also grant me the privilege to-"

_**#####################End Flashback#####################**_

"And from that day on, he's been working on that book and he became honest with the girls he's dating!" Lucy stated like ending a fairy tale.

"Hey wait! What happened at the end?!" Natsu complained. "It seemed like there was something else that happened. Why was his sentence cut? You did something to him, didn't you? You volleyball-attacked him, didn't you?!"

"Don't be silly." She laughed. "Now that story's over. Let's move on to the next."

"You sure are a lucky one, huh?" Natsu teased. "Getting chased by the guy who's been chased by other girls..."

"Hey, did you really listen to the story or you just focused on random details?"

"I was listening well," Natsu insisted. "You wanted him to stop being a playboy by suggesting that book, but you said you don't want to be his girlfriend because you don't want to keep him exclusively yours. You're confusing."

"Am I? Well..."

"You're really a weird one. So what do you really want then?"

"Hm, I guess I just don't want him to keep punishing himself for as long as he lives, that's why I suggested that book." She looked serious and concerned. "But I also dont want him to stop doing what he enjoys doing... I guess?" She smiled sheepishly for the nth time. Natsu gave him a doubtful look so she added, "Hey, he seem to be enjoying his dates, you know! I'm not the only weird one here!"

"Tsk, you two make up your minds. You won't be getting anywhere at this rate." He sighed and she pouted like a child who was just scolded.

"Well, your guys sure have interesting backgrounds," Natsu stated after a few seconds of silence.

"You think so? Hey, they are not _my_ guys, mind you!"

"But I don't think I would be in good terms with them," he said, completely ignoring what she pointed out.

"Huh? Why?"

"As your dragon-dog, I don't like their scent." He shrugged like it's an obvious fact. "And you saw how our first encounter turned out – we were like animals of different kind; by instinct we're enemies."

"What are you saying?" She laughed at him and pat his head while saying, "Despite how they look or act, they're good guys. I'm sure you'll get along well with them after some time."

_#####################To be continued#####################_

**AN: **Thank you for reading!Yay, I was able to achieve my today's goal! ^o^ though, I half-cheated, I cut this supposed chapter in half (or 2/3) and left the rest for the next update ^_^;; well, it's just so I can update today XD being in the 'working' age now [oh man, I'm getting old], I badly want to make my weekend productive :o I hope this turned out alright ^_^ The story is kinda dragged, though. :o I mean, the day hasn't changed since chapter 3 and chapter 5 will still be a continuation of this day #_# nyaaa, gomen~~ *sighs* it's been so long, I miss my MPD friends ^_^ sorry there won't be any reply-to-reviews for now (or probably from this point onward) because I really want to be able to update sooner o_o I guess I'll reply to the previous reviews through PM ^_^ but I really want to thank you guys - those who gave reviews last time, those who added this fic to their favorites and alert list, and those who even added me to their lists, ehe ^_^ I really appreciate the support! My pet dragon just _barked_ to say thanks too! XD

Please tell me your comments for this chapter as well, everyone~ how did you feel? What can you say about Gray-senpai and Loke's stories? And about Natsu and Lucy's pet-master relationship? What are your guesses/expectations? Requests or suggestions? ^_^ please feel free to express yourself, even mere fan-girling will do! :D let's say "kyaaaaa!" together, shall we? XD Thanks again! ^o^

_My Pet Dragon ~ next chapter:_

_Meet the doctor! Hai hai!_

_State the Terms and Conditions! Hai hai!_

_Try that food! Hai hai!_

Stay tuned!~ (^o^)


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